In Tamil Nadu, a daddy, lady and Modi in final election speeches

Chennai – References to “daddy” and a “lady” in political speeches added a twist of humour to the final round of campaigning in Tamil Nadu, where polling for the national election will take place on Thursday.

On Tuesday, DMK leader MK Stalin said the growth achieved by Tamil Nadu is due to his “daddy” M Karunanidhi, the party’s chief, and not because of a “lady”, an obvious reference to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the chief of the AIADMK.

“It is neither Narendra Modi nor the lady, but my father who will fight for people’s rights,” Mr Stalin, the younger son of Mr Karunanidhi, said at a rally at Pudukottai, 375 km from Chennai.

His “daddy vs Lady” comments took off from the “Lady vs Modi” fight propped up by Jayalalithaa and the BJP a day before.

On Monday, the Chief Minister said in an election speech,”The lady in Tamil Nadu is better than Modi in Gujarat in governance.” She had reeled off statistics too argue that she governs Tamil Nadu better than Mr Modi does his state, Gujarat.

The BJP’s Venkaiah Naidu shot back, “Lady is lady, Modi is Modi. There is no doubt about it. The lady is better suited to this state, I do agree and that’s why people have voted for her. Modi is better suited for administrating the country.”

In his campaign in Tamil Nadu, which sends 39 members to Parliament, Mr Modi has charged both the AIADMK and the DMK with taking people for granted.

Local BJP leaders have since been saying that Ms Jayalalithaa cannot be a Modi when it comes to governance.

Opinion polls suggest Jayalalithaa’s party will win most of the seats in this southern state, where the BJP has stitched up a six-party alliance.