You have seen Amma on stickers, you have seen Amma on TV, you have seen Amma on posters – have you ever seen in person?
On Tuesday morning, several Tamil and English newspapers in Chennai screamed these lines out from full-page ads, put out by the DMK with their 2016 clarion call – ‘Mudiyattum Vidiyattum’ (Let this regime end, let there be a new dawn).
Taking a not-so-veiled dig at Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who has been criticised for her rare public appearances, the DMK ads are said to be the first in many to follow.
Ad Wars
But the AIADMK too was quick to hit-back with a response on WhatsApp – with an audio message and a graphic.
Here’s the ad by DMK, which has been published on the front pages of Times of India, The Hindu and Tamil newspapers Dinathanti and Dinamalar.
The DMK is evidently trying to push the criticism that Jayalalithaa does not interact with the public and is rarely seen in public meetings.
The AIADMK, however, has hit back with an equally hilarious response.
A graphic now being circulated on WhatsApp says, “In 5 years, one has seen Karunanidhi’s dilly dallying tactics, celebrity weddings, film events and on a TV show ‘Manada Mayilaad’ and one has even seen him losing in Thiruvarur. #What are they doing? End DMK. Rise Tamil Nadu. Got it? How long will this go on?”
The AIADMK has also posted a WhatsApp audio claiming that DMK has spent Rs 18 crore just for one day on these advertisements and says the campaign seems like it’s for soap than a political campaign.
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