CHENNAI City Corporation poll campaign heats up

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai on October 8, 2011:

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/city-corporation-poll-campaign-heats-up/321101.html

CHENNAI: With the polling day (October 17) for the Chennai Corporation polls drawing near, contestants belonging to all major parties have shifted their campaign into top gear.

After a brief lull, campaign for both the Mayoral post as well as for the councillors gained momentum in the last few days with the contestants conducting door-to-door campaigns.

While the AIADMK’s Mayor-nominee Saidai S Duraisamy continued his hard-hitting campaign among the voters of Mylapore, Teynampet, Mandaiveli and R A Puram, his main rival M Subramanian of DMK continued campaign at Tiruma-ngalam and Villivakkam.

Not lagging behind, his main rivals from AIADMK and DMK, the Congress nominee for the Mayor post Saidai P Ravi on Friday concentrated his campaign in parts of North Chennai.

A K Moorthy, Mayoral candidate from the PMK on Friday campaigned in and around the Sholinganallur assembly segment in South Chennai.

Besides the Mayoral contestants, candidates fighting for the councillors of the Chennai Corporation have also intensified their door-to-door campaigns in their respective wards.

Several streets and interior roads in parts of Vyasarpadi, falling under the newly created division-44 (previously Ward-34), wore a festive look on Friday as the party cadres (both AIADMK and DMK) erected flag posts and party festoons. 
Barring a few aspiring contestants, most of the independent Mayoral candidates were not showing much interest in campaigning, as the seven-cornered clash for the prestigious post left them without any scope.