Tamil Nadu’s political parties typically turn a top leader’s visit into a major public spectacle, with large receptions, extensive publicity and local leaders using the occasion to build momentum.
However, a report said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent overnight stay in Chennai—after attending a campaign roadshow in Puducherry on April 4—passed without any visible campaign activity in the city. It claimed there was no roadshow and not even a planned reception along the route from the airport to the hotel.
According to senior BJP leaders quoted in the report, a roadshow had been considered in Chennai’s T. Nagar and Mylapore areas, but it could not be organised after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, who leads the alliance in Tamil Nadu, reportedly said he would be on an outstation campaign tour and would not be able to attend. The report also said an airport reception plan was dropped after a BJP vice-president assigned the task declined to take it up.
Even as the party’s central leadership continues to push for growth in Tamil Nadu, the report said the BJP sought to create visibility during nomination filings by sending prominent leaders to accompany candidates. It listed visits including Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal with state BJP president Nainar Nagendran in Sattur, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis with Ram Srinivasan in Madurai South, Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma with Vanathi in Coimbatore North, Union minister Piyush Goyal with Tamilisai in Chennai–Mylapore, Union minister Kishan Reddy with L. Murugan in Avinashi, Union minister Satyakumar Yadav with Nagesh Kumar in Thali, and BJP national secretary Aravind Menon with M.R. Gandhi in Nagercoil.
