RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat in Chennai today to celebrate Pongal.
Chennai:
Tamil speakers celebrate their annual harvest festival, Pongal, for the next four days starting today. Coinciding with similar revelries across the country, such as Bihu in Assam and Uttarayan in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu’s biggest celebration comes just months before the state assembly elections. Not surprisingly, key leaders from across the political spectrum are ready to mark their presence at events.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, for example, is already in Chennai on a two-day visit. Today, he offered Pongal prayers at the Sri Kadumbadi Chinnamman Temple in the Ponniammanmedu town of the state capital.
“During his visit, Bhagwat will participate in … Pongal celebrations. He will meet young professionals and start-up business owners and is also likely to interact with dignitaries. Based on his routine schedule, he will review the organization’s work with officials local, “read a press release. of the RSS, he said earlier this week.
Early this morning, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his usual wishes in both English and Tamil.
Greetings Pongal to all, especially my Tamil brothers and sisters. This special festival shows the best of Tamil culture. May we be blessed with good health and success. May this festival also inspire us to live in harmony with nature and promote the spirit of compassion.
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 14, 2021
Their party boss JP Nadda is scheduled to visit Tamil Nadu today to attend Namma Ooru Pongal (Our Village Pongal), a state program, in Chennai.
The BJP seeks to finally emerge from the political desert in Tamil Nadu in these elections. While it has not yet announced a formal alliance for the state elections, it partnered with AIADMK in the 2019 national elections.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is expected to attend the popular “Jallikattu” event in the Madurai district. The Jallikattu tradition, which involves raging bulls, has a passionate following in the state. A few years ago, the Supreme Court had banned the practice citing cruelty to animals, although the central government later legalized it taking into account Tamil sentiments.
அனைவருக்கும் எனது இனிய பொங்கல் நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள்.
உங்களுடன் தைப் பொங்கல் கொண்டாட இன்று தமிழகம் வருகிறேன். மதுரையில் ஜல்லிக்கட்டு விழாவில் பங்கேற்கிறேன்.
Come celebrate Pongal with you in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. pic.twitter.com/CSUpyUHJaR
– Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 14, 2021
Gandhi’s expected attendance at the event was first announced by KS Alagiri, the Tamil Nadu head of Congress. “The bull is a symbol of farmers and part of their lives,” he had said earlier this week, according to PTI.
Congress, while a marginal player in the state, seeks to maximize its gains from its alliance with DMK, the main opposition party in the state, which hopes to replace the ruling AIADMK government.
Both the DMK and AIADMK will fight in the upcoming elections without their greatest icons, M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa, for the first time in decades.
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