Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa is on a hectic electioneering tour across Tamil Nadu. But a few of her party leaders are campaigning in Kerala, for a change.
And she too is expected to come to Kerala for electioneering. So what is the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam doing in Kerala?
Hotel owner M S Subraaya, who is an AIADMK candidate from Peerumedu constituency in Kerala has the answer.
"Jayalalithaa is our leader in Kerala; not Oommen Chandy or V S Achuthanandan," he says.
Kerala's hilly regions bordering Tamil Nadu has a large Tamil population and Jayalalithaa is all set to take her party to the neighbouring state this time by putting up 54 candidates to fight elections in Kerala.
Fifty-four AIADMK candidates in Kerala? Yes, for the first time, AIADMK has fielded 54 candidates across Kerala.
And V S Achuthanandan, the chief ministerial hopeful of the Left front in Kerala, has a new political threat that Jayalalithaa has thrown up. AIADMK's Amarnath is fighting against Achuthanandan in Malampuzha, a constituency bordering Tamil Nadu in Kerala's Palakkad district. Can Amarnath dim Achuthanandan's chances in Malampuzha?
"Oh certainly. Everyone who is contesting here is worried that I am in the fray," says a jubilant Amarnath.
Amarnath says in Kerala's villages and town bordering Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa is the political hero.
"We are living and working in Kerala. But Amma is our leader. That is why AIADMK decided to fight 54 seats," he says.
Amarnath says he knows that he would not win in Malampuzha. But he is sure that he could play spoilsport with Achuthanandan's chances.
In the 2001 Assembly elections, Achuthanandan had a narrow win from the constituency.
Peerumedu candidate Subraaya says AIADMK will make an impact in several constituencies bordering Tamil Nadu, which also have considerable Tamil population.
They include Malampuzha, Palakkad, Thiruvanathapuram, Devikulam, Peermedu, Kollengode and Chittoor.
Interestingly, Jayalalithaa's idea to field candidates in Kerala elections was not sudden. It began when the breakaway Congress leader K Karunakaran contacted her to ask whether his new party -- Democratic Indira Congress -- can tie-up with AIADMK to fight elections.
Jayalalithaa was obviously interested in a deal with DIC(K); and she sent one of her ministers to Kerala in February to hold parleys with Karunakaran.
Again, in March, Karunakaran's son K Muraleedharan, who is the president of the party, flew down to Chennai and met Jayalalithaa to finalise the deal.
But the deal never came about, as DIC(K) soon clinched a seat sharing arrangement with the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front.
Jayalalithaa was miffed at the raw deal that Karunakaran meted out to her. She did not waste time and immediately activated AIADMK leaders on the border towns of Kerala and Tamil Nadu for a political breakthrough into Kerala.
Has AIADMK any presence in Kerala now? Amarnath says the party has a good presence among the Tamil workers in the tea and coffee estates of Kerala.
"Kerala has a large Tamil population these days especially in the high ranges. Most of them are AIADMK workers," he points out.
It looks like Jayalalithaa's first political entry into Kerala is not silly. AIADMK in March released a manifesto separately tailor-made for Kerala! What are the manifesto promises? AIADMK says:
-
The party will enhance power production in Kerala and increase revenues for the state by selling surplus energy to other states.
-
It would take steps against those who "perceive education as a business".
-
Students from class one to ten would be able to travel by bus for free and those of plus one and two would receive a free bicycle.
-
Efforts would be made to reopen closed industrial units of the state.
-
The Kerala high court would also have a bench in Thiruvananthapuram, other than the one in Kochi.
-
The party will provide employment opportunities for the non-resident Keralites.
