Giving a big boost to DMK alliance in Tamil Nadu and a new lease of life to his grand old party, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a big appeal among the voters, especially the youth which constitute more than one third of the 6.26 crore voters, in the state during his road shows.

In a span of one month he visited Tamil Nadu and Puducherry twice.

In Puducherry, while interacting with students of a state- run women’s college on Wednesday, Gandhi said the killing of his father former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991 brought him great pain but he nursed no anger or hatred towards the people responsible.

He said this when a student asked him, “your father was killed by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) and what are your feelings about these people?” He answered violence cannot take away anything. “The loss of my father was similar to having one’s heart severed. I felt tremendous pain, but I don’t feel anger, I don’t feel any hatred or any anger. I forgive,” he said to rounds of applause.

This created both headlines and a big appeal among the people of the state.

Rahul Gandhi’s new avatar in Tamil Nadu has the Congress excited and his road shows, instead of outdated stage shows ~ attracted huge crowds waving flags and holding placards.

In Erode he sat on the roof of the car with Lok Sabha MP Jothimani by his side, and addressed the crowd. The scene is similar in Coimbatore, where a massive crowd encircled his car. Once he emerged out of the sunroof, he was greeted with cheers and slogans.

“I have ‘ties of family and ties of blood’ with people of Tamil Nadu,” the Congress leader said, even as he invoked Tamil pride and culture in his speeches across the western regions of the state.

This was Rahul Gandhi’s second visit to Tamil Nadu in less than a month. The first visit was to Madurai during Pongal, for a Jallikattu match. This time, it was a three-day roadshow in Erode, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Karur beginning 23 January. A third visit is planned for 27 February to 1 March, where he will be covering five districts including Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Thenkasi and Kanyakumari districts.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president KS Alagiri said, the state unit has planned five visits by Rahul in the state, including Chennai ahead of the elections.