Microphone to pressure cooker: Tamil Nadu political parties fight over symbols

Naam Tamiral Party coordinator Seeman said the microphone symbol gave them hope.

chennai:

Despite the ‘rising sun’ and ‘two leaves’, this Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha election is still revolving around many symbols as some heavyweights are vying for a separate symbol.

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Pannerselvam will contest as an independent from the Ramanathapuram constituency on an independent ticket. MDMK headquarters secretary Durai Vaiko will contest the election on an independent symbol from Trichy constituency.

Similarly, Naam Thamizlar Katchi (NTK) failed to make sugarcane farmers its symbol and is now contesting with the microphone symbol in all constituencies in Tamil Nadu.

Naam Tamiral Party coordinator Seeman said the microphone symbol gave them hope. NTK is competing outside of the state’s major leagues.

NTK leader Seeman said: “Although we did not get the sugarcane farmer logo, we are getting hopeful about the ‘microphone’ logo. Many revolutionaries use this device to raise their slogans.”

TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK will contest elections using pressure cooker symbol. ‘Pressure cooker’ is a symbol of his luck in winning the RK Nagar by-election after the death of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha Amid the political drama in Tamil Nadu after the death of former CM Jayalalitha, he won the RK Nagar by-election .

For candidates, it’s a matter of proving their worth with unrecognized symbols. O Pannerselvam, who was ousted from the AIADMK, will prove that he still has the support of the AIADMK cadre as he seeks victory in Ramanathapuram constituency.

“Symbols are a way of identifying with the electorate and their ideology. For DMK, we have the rising sun, which symbolizes that the sun will drive away the darkness of ignorance and the darkness of oppression. Every political party will ask for symbols that symbolize their ideology, which symbolizes Their ideology.” DMK spokesperson Sarvanan said: “This is the DNA of the party, so symbols are important.”

Meanwhile, DMK ally Vaiko’s MDMK is looking to increase its vote share to ensure it gets a recognized mark in the next elections. The ECI refused to allot the ‘Top’ symbol to the MDMK, saying the party was contesting in only one constituency.

The MDMK is facing pressure from alliance big brother DMK to contest the DMK Rising Sun symbol, but Vaiko’s party feels it is better to abandon the independence symbol.

Vaiko’s son Durai Vaiko broke down at a public rally and said: “We are facing indirect pressure to challenge the DMK symbol but this will affect the image of our party. He will challenge their party’s independent symbol no matter what the cost.”

In the political history of Tamil Nadu, the symbolism of elections is a prestigious issue. The AIADMK split after the death of former CM and MDMK founder MG Ramachandran. One faction is led by MGR’s wife Janaki and the other is led by Jayalalitha.

At that time, the AIADMK two-leaf symbol was frozen and Jayalalitha fought for the independent symbol of “two doves” while the Janaki faction was given Seval (rooster) as its symbol.

The multitude of symbols can be confusing to voters, so the onus is actually on individual leaders to enlist their cadres to ensure their symbols prevail.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)