Virus hits TN campaign as candidates are infected

Several contestants in the Tamil Nadu election on April 6 are down with coronavirus infection disrupting their campaign plans and sending them into quarantine.

Chennai: With just two weeks left for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, surging Covid cases has sent shivers down the spine of political parties with key office-bearers pushed into quarantine.

‘April is the cruellest month’ - Eliot’s opening line in The Waste Land may prove right for Tamil Nadu politicians who feel jittery right now owing to two things: the prospect of electoral defeat and the coronavirus.

A few days ago, Makkal Needhi Maiyam candidate for the Velachery Assembly constituency, Santhosh Babu was confirmed to have been infected with coronavirus. Consequently, the candidates in quarantine could not take part in the election-related events. In a cascading effect, the supporters of actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s party felt a bit down in the dumps to the point that their campaign comes to a standstill.

Talking about the relapse of the disease, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan told ETV Bharat, “The guidelines to be mandatorily followed to ward off coronavirus raising its ugly head again, which were formulated on the instructions from the Disaster Management Law and the Health Department, apply to all people including the candidates in the fray for Assembly elections.”

All election officials have been directed to watch out whether the people including politicians coming to their offices for election-related work follow the stipulations and precautions, he added.

Makkal Needhi Katchi press coordinator Murali Abba said, talking over the phone to ETV Bharat “Though a few candidates of our party are bed-ridden with corona infection, they carry on with their election campaign online. We hope that they will recover soon enough to actively continue their campaign.” The party followers and supporters should focus not only on election campaign but also on creation of awareness of Covid among people, he added.

Factors for resurgence of pandemic

Ahead of the April 6 Assembly elections, leaders and activists of all parties have actively been in campaign mode, levelling charges and counter-charges, flaunting flags, inching through streets and roads in cars and jeeps and marching amidst crowds of supporters with people standing by the wayside as spectators.

It looks like a festival of democracy, but the congregations, meeting of people and crowds seem to have flouted every Covid-19 protocol such as maintaining social justice and wearing masks.

DMDK deputy secretary Sudhish hospitalized

Yet another politician hit by the virus is L K Sudhish, deputy secretary of the Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam, who was admitted to a private hospital on March 21.

Sudhish has already announced that he will actively take part in all election campaign meetings. Though he is currently under treatment for corona infection, the party’s head office in a press release declared that he will intensify the campaign for his party from March 26.

More political functionaries affected

Meanwhile, more functionaries of political parties have been infected with the coronavirus.

Makkal Needhi Maiyam’s Anna Nagar candidate Ponraj, DMK candidate for Cholinganallur Ramesh Aravind and DMDK candidate for Salem (West) Alagapuram R Mohanraj are among those down with the virus.