The banners are ready, and so are the sweets and crackers as the opposition AIADMK cadres — confident of winning the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls — count the hours before election results are declared on Friday.
"Just a day is left for the results, we are in a celebration mood. We are sure that we will win the election. Amma (party chief J. Jayalalithaa) will be the next chief minister. We have already bought sweets, crackers and banners of our party leader," R.B. Udayakumar, AIADMK state student wing secretary, told IANS. Party workers strongly believe that actor-turned-politician Jayalalithaa will make a comeback and assume the mantle of chief minister again. “The election result is just an official announcement and confirmation, but we know that our party is the winner. We are 100 per cent sure of this,” S. Selvaraj, an AIADMK youth wing leader in Ramanathapuram district, said.
At least two exit-polls have forecast a win for the AIADMK-led combine while one said the DMK will retain power. Workers are performing 'pujas', 'yagna' (fire rituals) and distributing food to the poor to make sure the party returns to power.
"We conducted a lot of special pujas particularly for agni, the god of fire, to destroy amma's political rivals and shelling out thousands of rupees is not an issue. These are just samples. The big day is coming on Friday. It is a festival for all the AIADMK workers and Tamil Nadu as Jayalalithaa will again be our chief minister," Udayakumar added. While the AIADMK cadres are optimistic, the ruling DMK workers are in a wait-and-watch mode. I. Pugazhendi, secretary of the DMK students' wing, said: "We are not making any special arrangements. After the results, we will gear up for the celebration. We have full hope of winning the election." About 75 per cent voting was recorded April 13. The counting will take place on Friday. The state Assembly has 234 seats.