EPS plays to his agrarian identity to retake central TN

BEING among the first opposition leaders to tour the delta districts and assess the impact of the recent rains on crop cultivation in the region, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami has once again played up his agrarian identity a political image he carefully cultivated as the "farmer" as he seeks to reclaim the party's lost ground in the central districts.

- PEARSON LEMERAN SE Ge.

Palaniswami's recent visit to rain-hit Nagapattinam, Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, though brief, was symbolically charged standing amid inundated paddy fields and hearing farmers' complaints on procurement delays. "I am not here for politics; my only demand is to expedite procurement to save farmers," he had said, blaming the DMK's "administrative failure". The visit followed his statewide campaign last month, during which he met farmers' representatives across the delta districts, heard their grievances and reinforced his connection with the agrarian community.

The recent visit marks his latest bid to revive his agrarian image, a theme he championed during the 2021 Assembly polls when he called himself the 'farmer chief minister' and declared the Cauvery delta a Protected Agriculture Zone in 2020.