Too Close for Comfort ; with the Aiadmk in Power in Chennai and the Dmk Part of the Upa at the Centre, the State May Witness Its Closest Poll Yet
Summary
Pollsters usually have it easy when it comes to Tamil Nadu. It's a land of the wholesome. Elections have more often than not thrown up landslide mandates. Results are a foregone conclusion, even before the first vote is cast. There are no grey areas in a Tamil voter's mind-either it was the AIADMK's massive margins in 1991 and 2001 or the DMK's amazing performances in 1996 and 2004. The winner looked larger-than-life, while the loser invariably got entangled in court cases thereafter. But as the state goes to polls on May 8, the man on the street has become uncharacteristically tongue-tied. Even the die-hard party loyalist would grudgingly concede that it is going to be a "tight finish" this time. For the Goddess of Poes Garden, who was left with a zero less than two years ago, that must come as good news.
So what's changed? Amma, to begin with, doesn't look like the imperious J. Jayalalithaa of 2004. Her spin doctors seem to have burnt the midnight oil to give her a makeover. With overnight rollbacks of her earlier decisions-restoration of free power for farmers, withdrawal of cases against journalists and reinstatement of government employees-the arrogance seems to have given way to a more "smiling" Amma. She has opened her arms to anyone who can help her win.See the full content of this document
Extract
Too Close for Comfort ; with the Aiadmk in Power in Chennai and the Dmk Part of the Upa at the Centre, the State May Witness Its Closest Poll Yet
From supping with a man she incarcerated for 19 months, to getting comedian-actors like Sendhil into the party fold, Amma 2006 is using every rule in the book-and outside-as she gets ready to face her most critical election. Close aide Sasikala has kept a surprisingly low profile. And superstar Rajnikanth has decided to stay neutral this time-proof enough that nobody wants to take the call as to which way the political wind is blowi...
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