Archrivals 'pitched battle' in most unpredictable polls

Chennai, Apr 29 (UNI) Amidst predictions of very close outcome and even hung assembly, the ruling AIADMK is fighting to retain its 2001 victory and the DMK to regain the status of 'ruling party', in the May 8 assembly polls in Tamil Nadu.

With the DMK leading the DPA front comprising the Congress, PMK, CPI(M), CPI and IUML and the AIADMK also calling its front DPA christening it as Democratic People's Alliance vis-a- vis the Karunanidhi led Democratic Progressive Alliance, first formed for the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, the assembly election this time is colourful as well as controversial, in more ways than one.

Going on their leaders' charisma, the arithmetic and some issues, the elections till 2001 had been predictable to some extent.

But no so this time, going by the way the front leaders have been 'hitting out' at each other and wooing the voters with sops, rattled a bit by the pre election surveys predicting no clear majority for either the AIADMK or the DMK.

With the electoral arithmetic still firmly on its side despite MDMK led by Vaiko crossing over to AIADMK in spite of his sworn enmity with the latter following is POTA arrest, the DMK still in doubt about its victory following its massive win in the Parliament polls,has been wooing the voters with the offer of colour tv, rice at Rs 2 per kg, modifying its 1967 offer of 1 kg rice at Re 1 and now Kerosene at subsidised price.

Not to be outdone, an apparently disturbed AIADMK leader came out with the offer of 10 kg of rice free through Public Distribution System(PDS) if voted back to power.

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