Palaniswami says more effective use of social media yielded results for TVK in T.N. Assembly elections

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Saturday said effective use of social media by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) yielded results for the party in the Assembly election. Addressing his colleagues from Kancheepuram district, he stressed the importance of using the platform to better disseminate the organisation’s position on various issues and flagging the shortcomings and weak spots of the State government.

The meeting marked the inauguration of the leadership’s district-wise consultations with functionaries and senior leaders to review the party’s performance in the Assembly elections, said senior functionaries of the party.

A view was expressed in the meeting that children of leaders of the party should be drafted for the party work. “This covers Mithun [Mr. Palaniswami’s son] too,” observed one of the functionaries.

In the district, the party contested three out of four seats, leaving Uthiramerur to its ally, the PMK. It drew a blank in all three seats, even though its nominee and former Minister V. Somasundaram was the runner-up in the Kancheepuram constituency. The party had secured about 2.01 lakh votes with a vote share of about 24%. In Alandur and Sriperumpudur, it finished third and retained its deposit. The PMK too lost in Uthiramerur.

Mekedatu row

In a statement, Mr. Palaniswami criticised the TVK regime for not exerting pressure on the Centre to stall Karnataka’s attempt to build a dam in Mekedatu, not taking any step to release water from the Mettur dam, and “not securing” the State’s share of Cauvery water from the neighbouring State.

Having provided respectability to Congress legislators by including a few of them in the Cabinet, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay should apply enough pressure on the Congress government in Karnataka to prevent the latter from constructing the dam and ensure release of the Cavuery water due to Tamil Nadu, Mr. Palaniswami said.