Campaigners from tinsel world

By K. Raju

DINDIGUL, MAY 3. Once again, the popular actors and actresses have proved that they are the real crowd pullers. Their fame and name is still a potent weapon to attract huge crowds in urban and rural areas.

As usual, the voters thronged those places well in advance where the leading stars from tinsel world were campaigning. Leaving all their routine job, people in nearby villages caught a bus and reached the bus stand in Nilakottai, to see the popular actor, Mr. Radha Ravi, on Wednesday. Though Mr. Radha Ravi, was behind schedule by two hours, the crowd kept waiting. People scrambled to see his face rather than to listen to him. He delivered a crisp 3-minute speech, requesting them to cast their votes for the AIADMK candidate, Mr. K. Anbazhagan.

Earlier, he addressed many wayside meetings. He stopped at even small gatherings to canvass. Earlier, in Dindigul, he spoke for about 20 minutes at a well attended meeting. Sporting a cinematic black dress and a black-tinted spectacle, he proved to be a crowdpuller. He enthralled the crowd with his sarcastic remarks on DMK and its allies.

At Natham bus stand, where he addressed a huge gathering, traffic was disrupted for a while. Even passengers from the bus gathered before his van for a glimpse.

A day before his visit here, actresses Ms. Radha and Ms. Ambika had met the voters and campaigned for the AIADMK.

Both - Mr. Radha Ravi and Ms. Radhika- visited the town on the same day. Police stepped up security in order to avoid untoward incidents. While the DMK's star campaigner, Ms. Radhika left the town by 10.30 a.m. after addressing voters in Dindigul, her brother, Mr. Radha Ravi, came along with CPI(M) candidate Ms. Balabarathi at around 12 p.m.

Capitalising on the jubilant mood of the voters, Ms. Radhika did not fail to boost the image of the Chief Minister and listed the achievements of the DMK rule. At the same time, she appealed to the voters to identify those politicians who indulged in corruption, but now sought sympathy.

Braving the scorching heat, the public were waiting for her. Thanking the crowd for a long wait, she commented that the both ``morning sun (hinting at `Rising Sun' symbol of the DMK) and the election were ``hot''. The campaign by the stars had made it ``hotter''. Appealing for voting the DMK to power, she compared the rejection of Ms. Jayalalitha's nominations with scenes from film ``Thiruvilayadal''. She compared the Election Commission to Nakkeeran, a Tamil poet.

Even when the crowd called her ``Chithi''(after the popular TV serial), she patiently replied to all the queries made by the public, even if they were not about the polls. A crowd had gathered at Palani bus stand to hear her speech.

While Radhika intensified her campaign in Dindigul and Palani, her husband and actor Mr. Sarath Kumar attracted huge crowds in Theni district and queried the public in ``Kodeeswaran'' style: `` I am ready to vote for DMK , Are you ready?''

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