Undeterred by the consecutive electoral setbacks, Naam Tamilar Katchi chief co-ordinator Seeman on Monday said the party will contest alone in all 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry General elections in 2029.
He urged his party cadre not to get disheartened by the recent Assembly election results, which saw the party’s vote share drop by 50 per cent.
Speaking at “May 18 Tamil Genocide Day” observation near Chennai, Mr. Seeman said the voters in Tamil Nadu did not seem to want an “ideology” but preferred an “image”.
“What Tamil people want is not ideology, but an image. We studied history, economics, geology, chemistry, sociology, agriculture, and literature. But people have taught us a different lesson. This is new to us. We will learn that too,” he said.
Mr. Seeman said “victory” was running towards the party now and added people will “search for a candle when there is no electricity in the night”.
“When there is injustice, they will search for good people. One day, people will search for us. They looked at us as amusement when we spoke, but they accepted the who amused them as their leader,” he joked, adding, “What can we do?! They don’t need an opinion, but just glamour. They didn’t know who was the candidate, whether he worked...they have voted (for TVK) without knowing why they voted. They didn’t want to know Karl Marx, Buddha, Ingersol, Ambedkar, Phule, Bhagat Singh...yet we will continue to endure and persist.”
Mr. Seeman seems to believe that the change in State Government would not result in fundamental changes in the governance. “The person has changed, but will governance change? Nothing will change. Did you want to become the Chief Minister not knowing there is a ₹10 lakh crore debt? I said that these kind of promises cannot be implemented. Let’s see how you are going to give ₹2,500 per month (for women heads of families) and six cylinders free of cost (for households annually). I said freebies cannot be given. I am proud of it.”
Criticising parents and grandparents for succumbing to the whims and fancies of children in their homes, Mr. Seeman said, “People are saying that they voted because their grand daughter/grand son asked them to vote. Will you oblige if they ask for a quarter (bottle of liquor)? Democracy has become farcical.”
Mr. Seeman also had harsh words for the Congress party which moved away from the DMK alliance to join the TVK immediately after the alliance.
“Now, you (DMK) realise how cheap the Congress can be. You watched when he killed Tamils for the sake of keeping power...now he has insulted you. Rahul Gandhi didn’t even appear on stage with you (MK Stalin), but he attended the swearing in ceremony (of CM C. Joseph Vijay) showing his teeth. After elections, the evil force became ‘pure force’. DMK is an evil force, but those (MLAs) who were elected with the DMK votes have been welcomed (by TVK).”
He added, “People will talk about 13th amendment (in Sri Lanka) and so on, but the only solution is a separate Eelam. We are demanding a referendum. Once we get power (in Tamil Nadu), we will push for a referendum for a separate state for Tamils in Sri Lanka. This is the last political solution.”