Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday held a roadshow in Tamil Nadu's Chennai, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The roadshow was held at Thiyagaraya Road in the city's T Nagar locality.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by BJP state president K Annamalai and the party's candidates for South Chennai, Central Chennai, and North Chennai during the roadshow.
Tamilisai Soundararajan has been fielded from South Chennai while Vinoj P Selvam and RC Paul Kanagaraj are the party's picks from Central Chennai and North Chennai, respectively.
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Dressed in a white shirt and the traditional 'veshti' (dhoti) and 'angavastram' (shawl), standing atop a decorated car, the Prime Minister was seen holding a lotus, the symbol of the BJP, and waving it to the crowd as he travelled through the city. A large number of people gathered on both sides of the road to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister and warmly welcomed him. BJP flags adorned the route along which PM Modi's convoy passed, with supporters waving them enthusiastically.
The 2km roadshow, spanning from Panagal Park to Teynampet, lasted approximately 45 minutes. Throughout the route, the Prime Minister was observed smiling and waving at the crowds, who enthusiastically greeted him with chants of "Bharat Mata ki Jai" and "Modi, Modi." Numerous individuals also displayed placards expressing support for the BJP and the Prime Minister.
Notably, the party has no representation from Tamil Nadu in the outgoing House.
Chennai has won me over: PM Modi
Later in a series of posts on X, Prime Minister Modi said the roadshow in the city would remain a part of his memory forever and that Chennai had won him over. "Chennai has won me over! Today's roadshow in this dynamic city will remain a part of my memory forever. The blessings of the people give me strength to keep working hard in your service and to make our nation even more developed. The enthusiasm in Chennai also shows that Tamil Nadu is all set to support NDA in a big way," he said.
"I assure my sisters and brothers of Chennai that our Government will keep working for the welfare of this vibrant city. Over the last few years, I have come here very often to inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for key projects which will boost 'Ease of Living.' At the root of this is connectivity."
He also said recently, the new integrated terminal building at Chennai airport was inaugurated. In the coming times, railway stations here including Egmore Station are going to be redeveloped.
He said, thanks to Vande Bharat Express, connectivity between Chennai-Coimbatore and Chennai-Mysuru had also been enhanced. "The Chennai Metro network is being expanded, thus helping the professionals working in the city. Key road projects like the Chennai-Bengaluru Expressway and the expansion of other existing road projects will improve commerce and connectivity," he added.
PM Modi hit out at DMK
Hitting out at the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, he said the party had done nothing much for the city. "For years, DMK took votes from the people of Chennai but did nothing much for the city. DMK is busy furthering corruption and family rule. Their MPs are not accessible to the people, particularly whenever the times are challenging. The recent public information on the Katchatheevu surrender point to how Congress and DMK were complicit in harming our strategic interests and the well-being of our fishermen and fisherwomen. No wonder this time, Chennai is all set to reject DMK and Congress," he said.
Highlighting the achievements of his government, the PM said, "Our Government accords topmost respect to Tamil culture. I felt so proud that I got an opportunity to speak a few words in Tamil language at the UN! We will continue to make Tamil culture and language popular at the world stage. Two years ago, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil was inaugurated which will further popularise aspects of Tamil culture."
About the housing sector, PM Modi said remarkable work is underway. "Lakhs of houses have been built across Tamil Nadu under PM-Awas Yojana. Sometime ago, many houses built as a part of Light House Project were inaugurated thus giving wings to several aspirations."
"Our Government is also working on projects like a Multi Modal Logistics Park and a Discovery Campus at IIT-Madras, which will boost business as well as innovation," he added.
Noting that the NDA Government will keep working in sectors like roads, ports, urban transportation, culture, commerce, connectivity, energy and more, the Prime Minister said, "At the same time, we will address key issues in Chennai like strengthening the disaster management apparatus, which makes us better prepared when calamities like floods strike. We will also keep supporting the MSME sector, a vital pillar of economic growth."
Tamil Nadu to vote in single phase
All 39 seats of Tamil Nadu will vote in the first phase of the general elections on April 19 and the counting of votes, along with those from other phases, has been scheduled for June 4.
2019 poll results
In 2019, the DMK swept the Lok Sabha polls in the state, winning 23 Lok Sabha seats and bagging the lion's share of the total votes polled, at 33.2 per cent. Its ruling ally, Congress, bagged 8 seats, mining 12.9 per cent of the total votes polled, while the CPI won two seats. CPI (M) and IUML won one seat each while the remaining two seats went to Independents.
