Rameswaram (Tamil Nadu): Sitting MP and Indian Union Muslim League candidate for Ramanathapuram constituency, Navas Kani MP, lauched his campaign for the Lok Sabha elections by offering prayers at Rameswaram Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram on Wednesday.
The IUML partners with the DMK, the Congress and other parties in the ruling alliance in the state and is also part of the Opposition bloc--INDIA.
Speaking on the sidelines of his election campaign, Kani said all problems concerning Tamil Nadu fishermen will be solved if the INDIA bloc is voted to power at the Centre.
"All the problems of Tamil Nadu fishermen will be solved if INDIA wins the upcoming (general) elections. I will make people aware of several running schemes of the state government, such as free bus travel for girls and higher education scholarships for male and female students, among others, during my campaign," he said.
"The central government cheated Tamil Nadu for the past 10 years and deceived the fishermen of Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government took action in the rescue of the fishermen arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy. When fishermen were arrested in Sri Lanka under the Congress rule, they were released along with their boats," he told ANI.
Expanding on the accomplishments of the state government, Kani told reporters, "The Tamil Nadu government allotted Rs 2,818 crore under the new Cauvery drinking water project in Ramanathapuram, set up a municipal corporation, opened new bus stands and implemented several other schemes for fishermen."
The IUML, earlier, named Kani as its candidate for Ramanathapuram constituency for the seven-phased Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the BJP's Lok Sabha candidate from South Chennai constituency, Tamilisai Soundarajan, also kicked off her election campaign on Wednesday.
"I took a 'vada' from a roadside shop. The owner was a woman. She reprensents the push for women's empowerment by the Centre, while I paid her digitally, which affirms the government's vision of a Digital India. The development that we see around us today is the one that we have all been dreaming of. The fruits of the development has reached the underprivileged, marginalised sections, and women. There is nothing more that I need to propagate. Development is all around us. PM Modi has got us here. Our country is well and truly on the road to development."
All 39 seats in Tamil Nadu will vote in a single phase on April 19 and the counting of votes along with those from other phases has been scheduled for June 4.
—ANI
