Palaniswami takes lead in announcing poll promises, AIADMK dt secretaries begin campaign

Chennai: With party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami taking the lead in announcing poll promises for the upcoming Assembly election in Tamil Nadu, AIADMK district secretaries initiated an outreach campaign to take the poll assurances to the people.

This move follows the crucial district secretaries meeting chaired by the AIADMK general secretary at the party's state headquarters in Royapettah here on February 4.

The office bearers of Ariyalur, Thanjavur South, Chengalpattu West, Perambalur, Cuddalore west and Chengalpattu East districts, among others, commenced the campaign distributing pamphlets containing the AIADMK's election promises to the public.

"Also, during the door campaign, we highlighted the positive impact these welfare announcements would make in their lives once they are implemented," a senior leader said.

Palaniswami had unveiled ten key election promises on the social welfare front, employment, housing and women empowerment, thus emerging as the first leader among the political parties to announce the poll manifesto ahead of the official announcement of the election schedule and even before the parties finalised the seat-sharing agreement.

He set the tone and tenor on which the AIADMK will take on the ruling DMK by announcing financial assistance of Rs 2,000 to women heads of family ration cardholders (Kula Vilakku Thittam), free travel in public transport (city buses) for men and continuing the existing facility for women, Amma Illam (housing scheme) for the homeless poor, and SC, increasing the mandays under the VB-GRAM G to 150 days, and Amma two-wheeler scheme of providing Rs 25,000 subsidy to five lakh women.

He announced five more assurances, including three LPG cylinders to ration cardholders, a hike in old age pension to Rs 2,000 from Rs 1,200 at present, waiving education loans, waiving of cooperative loans for the physically challenged, and interest-free self-employment loans for women from minority communities, and said his party would implement them when it formed the government this year.