50 years of Dravidian rule has left economy stagnant: Sitharaman

Around 12.45pm, as the Friday afternoon azaan (call to prayer) came from the nearby mosque, union minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her campaign for the BJP candidate for Saidapet, V Kalidass.

“We have set off on this campaign at a time when the prayer is commencing,” said Sitharaman. The meeting picked up pace as the temperature peaked. Sitharaman arrived late, and cadres and a handful of supporters waited under the sun at Jones Road in Saidapet despite the Election Commission’s advisory against campaigning in the heat. BJP sources said the meeting was delayed as permission had not been obtained in time.

“We accept the Election Commission advisory not to campaign when it is hot. But our candidate is filing his papers at 2pm so we had to assemble here,” said Sitharaman.

As she toured the constituency with the candidate, chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ followed and Sitharaman trained her guns on the DMK and the AIADMK. Tamil Nadu’s regional parties have ruined the state over the past 50 years, she said, promising corruption-free governance and development like in other BJP-ruled states such as Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

“The state which was one of the most industrialised in the country is now lagging behind. Governance or whatever it is they did in the last 50 years has left the economy stagnant,” she said. BJP will contest 164 seats in Tamil Nadu, while its allies will contest in the remaining 70.