Contrary to what was being widely believed that 2G spectrum scam will not have major impact on assembly elections in rural constituencies of Tamil Nadu, it appears that the issue of corruption has proved to be a part of the anti-incumbency factor that handed down a drubbing to the ruling DMK-Congress combine.
Taking pundits standpoint on 2G?s impact on assembly polls in the state with no pinch of salt, the ruling DMK reportedly avoided fielding of candidates in urban cities like Chennai and shifted itself to rural interiors leaving urban constituencies to its alliance partners. The 86-year-old DMK patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi who in his 60 year political career had fought most of the elections from party?s stronghold of Chennai wisely chose to switch over to his hometown Tiruvarur supposedly to evade the electorate angst and a possible state-wide backlash on DMKs role in 2G scam.
Before election results and polling, DMK largely remained unfazed by 2G campaign of the opposition, especially not much reacting to TV channels like Jaya TV and Captain TV that stepped up the ante by churning out more debates, discussions, expert opinion on how the 2G scam has brought disgrace and ill-name to the state of Tamil Nadu in the national arena.
DMK was widely known to be a party that kept the local print and electronic media under the thumb in airing feel good propaganda on various welfare measures like 1 kg rice for R1, free insurance scheme for economically disadvantaged, 108 Ambulance scheme, free concrete houses for the poor, filling up the record number of vacancies in government jobs including teacher, transport workers and public service commission postings, somewhat lost its grip on the media during the fag end of the five year rule coinciding with the hogging of 2G saga on all television channels and news papers.
When the footage of ex-Union telecom minister A Raja started to appear intermittently on the national channels in connection with multi-crore 2G scam, DMK camp sprang to his defence by saying that opposition is blowing the presumptive loss out of proportion. It couldn?t last long as the counter media propaganda staged by DMK?s mouthpiece Kalaignar TV and Maran brother?s Sun Network through similar kind of debates, expert opinions and panel discussions failed to cut much ice with the disgusted electorate of the state.
Media went whole hog when the CBI impounded Raja and conducted search and seizure raids at various places including Kanimozhi?s Tamil Maiyyam in connection with the 2G money trail. Stories started to stream out on first family?s unholy connection with lobbyist like Nira Radia by dint of their ministerial portfolios at the centre helped only in securing plump portfolios for family members than serving the interest of the state.
It went beyond means for DMK when media trained guns on various controversies plaguing the family including Karunanidhi?s daughter Kanimozhi?s role in the 2G episode, suspicious and untimely death of Raja?s close aide Sadiq Batcha all providing ammunitions to media guns.