Assembly election: Washing dirty linen in public – Tamil Nadu style

Several Tamil Nadu political leaders demonstrated unusual stunts to grab eyeballs

It is election season when dirty linen is washed in public. In Tamil Nadu, an AIADMK candidate has done it literally.

To catch the attention of voters and to “connect” with them, Thanga Kathiravan, AIADMK nominee from Nagapattinam in the Cauvery Delta region, washed clothes in public in full media glare.

Not just this candidate, several others are grabbing the eyeballs for their “out-of-the-box” ideas – one DMK candidate was seen making beedi along with workers, another helped prepare dosa at a food joint, while one sold vegetables.

But Thanga Kathiravan took the campaign to the next level when he washed clothes with his supporters who actively encouraged and even lauded him, saying “super, super.” A video that has now gone viral shows a group of AIADMK men wearing their signature shawl, cheering for their candidate.

Read: OPS faces 'tough competition' from former party man Thanga Tamilselvan in Bodinayakanur

As Thanga Kathiravan applied detergent to clothes and washed them, his supporters were elated. What followed were slogans like vetri chinnam irattai ilai (victorious symbol Two Leaves) as the candidate looked happy and kept smiling all through. Finally, he handed over one of the clothes he washed to the rightful owner, before telling her to “take care.”

Another stunt came from DMK candidate Prabhakar Raja – a political novice and son of the leader of an influential traders' body – who is contesting from Virugambakkam in Chennai. Raja, wearing the DMK shawl is seen sweeping the stone used to make dosa at a food joint and taking a cup full of batter and splattering it on the stone.

As he sprinkled oil around the batter, his supporters clapped and celebrated the “event”. While some told Raja that he should wait till the dosa is made, others gave him lessons on how to make it crisp. A few seconds later, the dish was ready and was served to the person who had ordered.

And third in the list so far is K R Jayaram, the AIADMK nominee from Singanallur in Coimbatore. He turned a vegetable seller, and happily posed for pictures as he “sold” vegetables. And the last is T Sampath Kumar of the DMK who is taking on Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami in Edappadi in Salem district.

He did not do any such acts, but quietly went to a place where beedi was being produced and helped the workers to make them. Of course, a picture was clicked and it found its way in to social media.

Elections are another 13 days away, and there will be more such “ideas” to garner votes. Which would work? EVMs hold the answer.