‘Rahul will be the PM once INDIA bloc forms govt.’
third consecutive time in a Lok Sabha election. However, nearly 30 constituencies recorded at least a two percentage-point reduction compared to 2019. All constituencies in the Cauvery delta and the southern districts witnessed lower turnouts in respect of percentage points. Thoothukudi recorded the maximum reduction of nearly 9.5 percentage points compared to 2019. Other seats that witnessed around ve percentage-point reductions include Sivaganga, Theni, Nagapattinam (SC) and Chennai Central.
Duplication woes
Former Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami said that duplication of names in electoral rolls could have played a signicant role in the reduction of polling percentage. “Efforts were made by the EC in Tamil Nadu and Kerala more than a decade ago to verify the voter list using various conventional methods. But now, the EC has Aadhaar as a common authentic source to verify names on rolls, provided that voters link their Aadhaar with the voter ID.”
He further said that conducting polls on Mondays and Fridays in metropolitan cities, and the scorching summer heat could have impacted the turnout.
The MDMK’s candidate for the Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency Durai Vaiko on Saturday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi would become the Prime Minister of the country when the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) formed a government at the Centre.
“The MDMK has been saying it for the past two years. It is also my personal opinion that he should be the Prime Minister. I don’t know about the views of our allies,” he said at a press meet here, when pointed out that the INDIA bloc had not yet put forth a Prime Ministerial candidate. He said that he had expressed his views on the subject even during a campaign in Delhi. “I told people that funds would be allotted for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme once Rahul Gandhi becomes the Prime Minister,” he said.
Meeting with CM
He had earlier met Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and thanked him for his support. Asked whether he would get a berth (in the Union Cabinet) if the INDIA bloc was elected to power, he said he did not have such ambitions. He was hopeful of the DMK and its allies winning all 40 seats in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Asked about his party contesting on the ‘matchbox’ symbol, he said there were no problems in popularising the symbol. The MDMK had lost its ‘top’ symbol after the Election Commission refused to reassign it to the party. He said he was fully satised with the support from DMK’s Ministers to his campaign.