CHENNAI: Just a few days to go before campaigning for the Tamil Nadu polls end, the limelight has shifted to media platforms. In an effort to target the 20 million millennial votes in the state, the two big political rivals have began campaigning extensively on social media with series of videos that cater to the smartphone generation. Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu are scheduled to be held in a single phase on April 18.
Leading the political media war on both television and on social media is the state's key opposition party - DMK or Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam led by MK Stalin. The party have, through a a series of videos on twitter, aimed at reminding people of several instances, including the police firing that killed 13 anti-Sterlite protesters in Tuticorin, student suicides related to the imposition of NEET, the entrance test for medical admission replacing Tamil Nadu's class XII marks based admission system, the hardship following demonetisation and GST implementation and the recent sexual abuse of women in Pollachi.
The videos, mostly in Tamil, target the E Palaniswamy led AIADMK government with it's tagline - "No slaves and oppressors. Vote for DMK". Most clips show the rising sun, the symbol of the DMK party.
However, the ruling AIADMK seems to be giving the opposition party an equal fight. Facing flak for the Pollachi sexual abuse case, supporters of the ruling AIADMK are taking on the DMK-Congress alliance in their own creative way. A video recording by AIADMK shows a television news clip on a DMK functionary assaulting a woman, who the party had later suspended. Also included in the clip were visuals of DMK founder late Karunandhi laughing, over which popular comedian's well known dialogue is heard saying "These things are common in politics".
In yet another campaign, the ruling party used old videos of former chief minister and visionary, J Jayalalaithaa's seeking votes from people.
In another rather cinematic campaign video by actor-politician Kamal Haasan, he is seen asking voters to check with the parents of the students who killed themselves over NEET on whom to vote for. Kamal Hassan is heard saying, "If we have to be the feeder hand for the people we can't even shake hands or touch them. They are so corrupt".
A Saravanan, DMK Spokesperson, expressing disapproval over the video, said, "Everyone knows Kamal Hassan is the B team of BJP. He can't be talking about Dravidian politics. When the entire country is against the fascist regime of Narendra Modi, Kamal Hassan says he can't be faulted with. "
