...as corruption and good governance jostle for space
A month of suspense over who will be the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu will come to an end on Friday. Counting at 91 centres across the state will yield its results. Three television channels have predicted the J Jayalalithaa-led All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) alliance will form the next government, which has prompted the AIADMK cadres to start celebrations early.
Tamil Nadu’s election was perceived as a battle between governance and corruption.
So, what are the crucial factors to watch out for? The 2011 Assembly election was fought against the backdrop of crucial issues, including the Rs 1.76 lakh crore 2G scam, power shortage and freebies.(Click here for graph 1)
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), headed by the 87-year-old M Karunanidhi, is in power since 2006 and it is an ally of the Congress-led UPA government in the Centre. The party’s former Union telecom minister, A Raja is caught in the 2G corruption scandal and now undergoing trial.
The constant media focus on the scandal and on the first family’s alleged role in the scam has affected the DMK, especially the CBI chargesheets against Karunanidhi’s daughter and DMK MP K Kanimozhi.(Click here for graph 2)
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DMK has used the lure of freebies to remove the taint of corruption. The party’s manifesto is a cradle-to-grave documents that has something for everyone — from pregnant women to college students, senior citizens and, above all, the entire agricultural community in the state. It promises rice, houses, free colour televisions, free power and gas stoves and free wet grinders or mixies.
On the other side, the AIADMK has promised free houses, free rice, marriage assistance of Rs 25,000, four grammes of gold, free mixies, grinders, fan, drinking water, laptops... the list goes on.
But the state faces many challenges, the most singular one being lack of power. The daily power deficit is around 3,000 megawatts. The capital, Chennai, has an hour of daily load shedding, while the duration of powercuts in other parts is up to three hours from two.Obviously, this has affected industrial growth. This is the first thing any government will have to fix when it comes to power.
In the freebies department, Puducherry has set a new benchmark. The ruling Congress has promised free mobile phones, refrigerators or water purifiers and helmets for scooter-owners, if it returns to power.
For the 810,500 voters, the choice is incumbent Congress Chief Minister V Vaithilingam or former Congress leader and former Chief Minister N Rangasamy, who now heads the All India NR Congress (AINRC).