It was surreal -- the sight of an assorted crowd of 15,000-odd people cheering wildly for Congress president Sonia Gandhi in the sweltering heat in Madurai late on Tuesday afternoon.
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The crowd was an assortment of supporters from the Democratic Progressive Alliance partners -- with the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist supporters outnumbering those from the Congress.
Yet, the applause -- either when Sonia took the stage or when she began her speech or when she ended it -- was far greater than what was accorded to Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran or any of the other speakers.
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And, more important, the adulation was not one-sided. There was a sincerity about Sonia too.
If sincerity was not evident in her speech, this incident highlighted it. A section of the crowd standing to the right of the stage -- consisting mostly of Communist workers -- was waving wildly at Sonia, who had just taken her seat on the stage.
Soon they caught Sonia's eye. Immediately, she returned a hesitant wave towards the section with childlike enthusiasm. It was as though she was smuggling the wave past the local leader who had made the stage his own. The cheering doubled and the speaker was left speechless.
Somehow, he understood that the crowd had not braved the more than 40 degree Celsius heat to listen to him, and backed off without another word. Maran was the next speaker.
After reminding the crowd about the DMK's promises such as rice at Rs 2 a kilogram and free colour TV, Maran swiftly changed gears and listed the 'achievements' that were possible because of the central government -- the slashing of STD rates to Re 1, the implementation of the Sethu Samudram Project and the laying of 'miles and miles of smooth roads.'
If only the state government had co-operated with the Centre, much more could have been accomplished for Tamil Nadu, he said, adding, "Jayalalithaa hates me, T R Baalu (Union Minister for Transport and Shipping), P Chidambaram (Union Finance Minister) and all the Union ministers. Why, she even hates Lalu Prasad Yadav (Union Railway Minister), who has done so much for Tamil Nadu."
Like-minded governments at the Centre and state will only mean a better Tamil Nadu, Maran said. The majority DMK supporters cheered involuntarily and waited for Sonia Gandhi to speak.
"Sagodara Sagodarigal yellarukkum en vanakkam (My greetings to all you brothers and sisters)," she started, after greeting all those present on the stage. She had to pause for a couple of minutes as the entire ground came alive.
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With a translator droning after her, Sonia continued: "It is the overwhelming mandate that you people gave the United Progressive Alliance in the last general elections that was instrumental in us forming a government."
The crowd waited for the translator to put it across to them and acknowledged her thanks with raucous cheers.
"Dr Karunanidhi has been one of the architects of the UPA at the Centre and the architect of the DPA in Tamil Nadu. Our government is committed to the development of the weaker section of the society," she said, before listing a few legislations that would help the poor, like the rural employment guarantee scheme and the right to information act.
When she said it was the Centre that had accorded classical status to Tamil, the crowd went berserk.
She finished her short speech with, "We have done these things sitting at the Centre. Imagine how much more we can do for you if you vote for us in Tamil Nadu too. Nandri Vanakkam, Vetri Namathe (Victory will be ours)."
The crowd, having waited patiently for 90 minutes to hear a 9-minute speech, did not show any sign of disappointed at all. Almost everyone left with a smile on his or her face. They had not waited for nothing. They had listened to Sonia speak. No other non-Dravidian leader has ever seen as tumultuous a response as Sonia got.