Union Minister Smriti Irani launched her election campaign in North Chennai, Tamil Nadu, where she criticized the DMK leaders’ alleged anti-Sanatana Dharma remarks. She emphasized the state’s spiritual heritage, stating, “Today, I stand in a state that is renowned for its spiritual power, its saints, and its culture, and that is why the nation is outraged when the DMK leaders attacked Sanatana Dharma.” Irani, also the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, campaigned in support of North Chennai BJP candidate Paul Kanagaraj.
During her campaign, which started at Othavadai Street in Nammalwarpet Market, Chennai, Irani targeted the opposition INDIA alliance. She questioned the Congress party’s commitment to democracy, saying, “Today, the Congress party says they want to protect democracy. My question to the Congress party is how will they protect democracy when they are with the DMK?” Irani also criticized the alliance’s connections to what she described as terrorist organizations, stating, “The Congress today to fight election even in a state like Kerala takes the support of banned terrorist organisations like the PFI’s political leadership.”
Irani highlighted the perceived contradictions within the alliance, stating, “And I saw that in Wayanad, the INDI alliance is fighting, but when they meet in Delhi, they are hugging each other. And today I am in Tamil Nadu; I can only say, In Delhi, they are hugging; in Kerala, they are begging; and in Tamil Nadu, they are thugging.”
The upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will be held in the first phase on April 19. In the 2019 elections, the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which included the Congress, VCK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), IUML, MMK, KMDK, TVK, and AIFB, won 38 out of 39 seats in Tamil Nadu. The NDA, led by the BJP, won only one seat.
In Puducherry, the Congress won the only seat contested in the 2019 elections. This year, the polling will take place in seven phases across the country, starting on April 19 and concluding on June 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for June 4.