Raking up December floods a concern for AIADMK

The deluge that ravaged Chennai and other northern districts in December last year is weighing heavily on the minds of the AIADMK leadership as it has come under heavy attack from many leaders for its "inept" handling of the situation. Sensing the public mood, Jayalalithaa herself said on Friday that she would make Chennai a flood-free city.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and its vice-president Rahul Gandhi touched upon the issue during their public meetings in the city in the last three days.
While Sonia tore into the AIADMK for the government's failure "to reach out to the people," leaving them to fend for themselves, Modi said his government had responded fast by dispatching a naval ship and helicopters to rescue people and distribute welfare aid. Modi sought to remind Chennaiites that he himself visited the affected people. Other BJP leaders like Prakash Javadekar have been attacking the state government for claiming credit for the assistance provided by the Centre.
Rahul, in a cryptic reference to Jayalalithaa remaining inaccessible during the floods, said, "Our leaders do not stay behind closed doors. They don't mind getting a little wet. They don't mind helping poor people lift their bags out of flood water".
DMK treasurer M K Stalin has been repeatedly attacking Jayalalithaa on the issue saying, "She claims that she has done much more than what she had promised. One such thing that she did not promise, but still did is the opening of the flood gates of Chembarambakkam reservoir without giving adequate warning to the people and thereby causing irreparable damage to lives and properties."
Ever since the floods, political pandits have been debating its electoral fallout, because it had the potential to dent the image of the Jayalalithaa government, which was riding high on a virtual sweep in the Lok Sabha election and her high court acquittal in the disproportionate assets case. Despite being accused of slipping into a governance paralysis after her conviction by a special court, the government did not have to battle any strong anti-incumbency factor. It was Chennai floods that put the ruling party in a tight spot, said analyst M Kasinathan.
Now with just a week to go for poll, the National Geographic channel has released a documentary on Chennai floods.
After the initial fumble, the state government did some damage control by disbursing cash assistance to the affected. Only the poll will show whether the money was enough to assuage the feelings of the affected. But even in the 2006 assembly elections, fought after the 2004 tsunami, the AIADMK did fairly well by winning nine out of the 17 seats in Chennai city, thanks to the relief provided by the government to the affected families. One has to wait and watch how people react.