Though the whole focus in Tamil Nadu is on J Jayalalithaa (AIADMK), M Karunanidhi (DMK), Vijayakant (DMDK) and Anbumani Ramadoss (PMK) who are the chief ministerial candidates of their respective parties and fronts, the State is witnessing a concerted campaign by Naam Tamilar (We the Tamilians), a political outfit which has no qualms in proclaiming its regional chauvinism to the outside world. led by Seeman Sebastain, the party stands for everything that is Tamil.
What makes 45-year-old Seeman unique is his campaign with larger-than-life posters of V Prabhakaran, late leader of the dreaded lTTE, demanding that Tamil Nadu should be ruled by Tamils and creation of independent Eelam in Sri lanka. The Naam Tamilar is contesting in all the 234 constituencies in the State. Seeman has told the people of Tamil Nadu that the State would be ruled only by Tamils if they vote Naam Tamilar to power.
The offer by Seeman, who was the hero in many a romantic drama enacted in Chennai, could be irresistible to an average Tamilian. The present Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, acoording to Seeman, is from Karnataka. “Muthuvel Karunanidhi, the DMK chief and former Chief Minister is Telugu. Even CN Annadurai, founder of the DMK, is Telugu. MG Ramachandran, founder of the AIADMK and former Chief Minister was a Keralite. Kamaraj was the only Tamilian to have ruled the State in modern times. We need a Tamilian as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,” said Devi, a senior Naam Tamilar leader who is taking on Jayalalithaa at RK Nagar constituency. She said even Vijayakant is a Telugu.
The Naam Tamilar is no pushover like other fringe parties. “We were responsible for the defeat of Congress in 58 constituencies in the 2011 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. Seeman campaigned intensely in 58 out of the 63 constituencies from where the Congress contested and the party was defeated in all the 58 constituencies,” said Senthil Kumar, spokesman of Naam Tamilar.
He said the campaign against the Congress was to expose the party’s indifference towards the sufferings of the Tamils in Sri lanka.
In addition to the traditional promises made by all political parties like writing off of all farm loans and making available 24X7 free drinking water, party leader Seeman, who is a close affiliate of secessionist leaders like SR Geelani of Jammu & Kashmir, has offered the people five capital cities for Tamil Nadu.
Chennai would be the port and information technology capital, while Tiruchirappalli would be the new administrative capital city.
Madurai will be designated as the State’s cultural capital and Coimbatore will be made the commercial capital Tamil Nadu will also have a philosophical capital in Kanyakumari.