Fading star power in election campaign, politics of Tamil Nadu

Election campaign and politics in Tamil Nadu were always “star-studded” when M G Ramachandran, J Jayalalithaa, and M Karunanidhi held the reins. Even during the last Lok Sabha and assembly elections, actors Namitha and Vadivelu were among the stars who had campaigned for the two major parties — All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) respectively. However, this time the number has dwindled. The reason could be that stars may perceive a threat to their career if their rival parties win. For instance, Vadivelu was vocal in his campaigns for the DMK before the assembly elections in which the AIADMK came to power. He has not been seen in films for over a year now. Another reason is many of the stars have plunged into full-time politics, such as Kamal Haasan, Vijayakant, Sarath Kumar, Rajinikanth, to name a few. With barely a few days to go for the Lok Sabha election, it is yet unclear whether stars would campaign for their peers.

Leader first, pleader next

With nine days to go for the Lok Sabha elections, some senior lawyers, who are also Congress leaders, have sought adjournments in their cases. Senior advocate Salman Khurshid (pictured) has kept the entire month of April for election-related work, and accordingly requested the National Company Law Tribunal to adjourn the case to any date other than in April. The tribunal acceded to his request and gave a date in May.

Symbols of recognition

The Election Commission (EC) is launching more than 30 election symbols for potential independent candidates in the upcoming general elections. Every independent candidate wants an eye catching symbol so the voters can differentiate easily. The EC has decided not to disappoint them. In the list this time are symbols such as ludo, pen drive, CCTV cameras, laptop, earrings, apple, robot and the like. These are some of the free symbols that are available for the independent candidates. According to the EC, some 200 election symbols will be used during the polls.