Return Of The Resort Politics Ahead Of Tamil Nadu Election Results? Vijay Maps Out New Strategy As TVK And DMK Brace For Tight Contest

TAMIL NADU ELECTION RESULTS: Looking forward to the possibility of a hung Assembly once the poll results are announced on May 4, TN parties are preparing to fall into the notorious ‘resort politics’ as the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party led by Vijay has already made arrangements to corral their winning candidates in a resort in Poonjeri near Mahabalipuram.

Is TVK going for resort politics ahead of election results? 

It is relevant to mention that a day after the results of the exit polls had been announced last Wednesday, at Panaiyur, Vijay issued a statement asking his party candidates to rush to the party headquarters at Panaiyur without further delay in case they are declared as the winners on May 4.

According to sources, Vijay’s TVK usually arranges state-level functionaries’ meet at the private resort in Poonjeri. The resort was able to house over 100 individuals. The source further added that Vijay had sarcastically advised the candidates at the meeting not to go anywhere after winning the seat.

Tamil Nadu Elections: TVK Vijay’s special request to party members

Sources added that Vijay has requested his party legal wing to be ready to face all the eventualities and directed the party general secretary (election campaign management), Aadhav Arjuna to give a representation to the Election Commission of India to ensure the provision of security in order to prevent a law and order disturbance on the counting day.

Meanwhile, the ruling DMK is confident of coming back to power as the single largest party and has instructed its party workers to be vigilant during the counting.

As soon as the exit polls came out last Wednesday, Vijay jumped into action. He told the winning candidates to head straight to the party headquarters in Panaiyur on May 4. Pretty soon, the usual round of “resort politics” kicked in. Most exit polls were betting on either the DMK alliance or TVK to take the reins. Sensing an opportunity, Vijay apparently urged the newly-elected candidates to gather at the resort.

He also instructed Aadhav Arjuna, the party’s general secretary in charge of election campaigns, to ask the Election Commission of India for more security at the vote-counting centres. They want to keep things under control.

Meanwhile, the ruling DMK is feeling confident. Party leaders told their team to stay alert and keep a close eye on the vote counting. Things are really hanging in the balance right now. Nobody knows exactly how it’ll shake out, but it’s pretty clear: once those results come in, get ready for plenty of behind-the-scenes moves. Resort politics is back in play as everyone scrambles for power in Tamil Nadu.

Tamil Nadu Elections: What did the exit polls predict?

With various exit poll surveys giving the upper hand to various parties, DMK alliance, TVK, and AIADMK bloc, TVK chief and actor C Joseph Vijay had asked his party functionaries to keep the resort ready in order to house at least 100 winning candidates. The meeting with party candidates on Thursday made Vijay ask the functionaries to book the resort to accommodate the winning candidates, a source privy to the developments told this newspaper.

According to data that came out in the evening yesterday, the Stalin-led DMK, who is in a coalition that has included the Congress too, is expected to bag 125 seats, with an error margin of 11, in the 234-seat Assembly. It needs 118 seats to form a government.

However, the real shocker came from the AIADMK, the main rival political party, which has now allied with BJP again. According to the projection from this pollster, it is expected to bag only 45 (plus/minus 11) seats, even less than the TVK, which has come into politics now for the first time.

The Vijay-led outfit is expected to get 63 seats with the same error margin, according to Today’s Chanakya. If we go by vote shares, the projections are 27%, 39% and 30% for the AIADMK-led alliance, the DMK+ and TVK respectively.

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