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  • 21 hours ago
Royapuram in Chennai is shaping up as a high-stakes electoral battleground, with AIADMK’s D Jayakumar relying on his personal connect and long-standing goodwill among voters. His campaign, marked by cultural symbolism and welfare promises such as free refrigerators, underscores his accessibility and grassroots rapport. The DMK, meanwhile, is pitching its governance record and welfare schemes under the “Stalin model,” while working to consolidate its strong minority vote base, particularly among Muslim voters. Its candidate, Subair Khan, is seeking to widen his appeal through symbolic outreach across communities. While Muslim men largely appear to favour the DMK, voting preferences among Muslim women remain less clear, potentially making them a decisive factor. Jayakumar faces the challenge of regaining minority trust after a shift towards the DMK in 2021, while the ruling party must contend with some anti-incumbency against its previous MLA.

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00:13We are reporting from the AIA DMK's campaign here in Royapuram and the energy has reached fever pitch.
00:26The battle here is between AIA DMK's D. Jai Kumar who enjoys a lot of personal popularity.
00:33Squaring off against him is the debut candidate from DMK, Subair Khan who is the son of former minister Rehman
00:40Khan.
00:40In fact, last time in the year 2021, D. Jai Kumar despite being so popular had lost in Royapuram which
00:47is actually his bastion.
00:49He has been an MLA from here since the year 1991 and has not shifted constituencies.
00:54So come with me as I take you to explore the streets and corners of Royapuram, speak to all those
01:00candidates and really truly find out what the people of Royapuram really want.
01:21Now when you are so loyal to Royapuram and you are such a popular face, last time what happened sir?
01:26Why the defeat?
01:26Actually some, what are the election promises that have been announced by the Stalin, that to DMK, election manifesto, thousand
01:40rupees.
01:41It has reached. So all two crores assured that as soon as when we assume the office, that is chief
01:56minister post, immediately we will be giving a thousand rupees to two crores family.
02:01But instead of that one crores family, that too, before the 24th parliament election, fourth coming, you know, that time
02:09only gave.
02:10So what the people know, thousand rupees we will get. So false promises.
02:25So what theoz gives us the answer for that one next day.
02:27You know, from the two 30th Bora Bora immigrants, the court,
02:36Yes, you know, you can apply to the street road.
02:39There is a way to work, the street road.
02:41There's a way to work.
02:41There is a way to work, there is a way to work.
02:42The street road can be a way to work.
02:45If you come to work, who can come here?
02:48You can say, if you come to work, there's a way to work.
02:53They can do it.
02:54We can do it.
02:56We can do it.
02:58We can do it.
03:01We can do it.
03:03The guy's workplace is created with him, when the guy once got married, in the car, he was living in
03:10a race.
03:11How did you get postal and wipe a game?
03:13He's killing the guy, but he's the best.
03:17He's killing the guy.
03:23Who's a politician?
03:25We were usually DJing by the cops.
03:28What was the last time he was so good?
03:29How are you doing this?
03:30I would say that I would have done this.
03:33I would have done it.
03:34I would have done it.
03:36I would have done it.
03:37I would have done it.
03:48And from the ADM case campaign, we have now come to the DM case campaign in Royaburam
03:53where Mr. Subair Khan, who is the son of ex-minister Rehman Khan is contesting.
03:58And the biggest weakness for the DMK in this constituency is the fact that the incumbent
04:03MLA, iDreams, did not really connect well with the ground people of Royaburam.
04:09And that's why the DMK has also changed its candidate and made Subair Khan contest from
04:14here.
04:14But another strong factor for the DMK is the strength of the minority vote bank which constitutes
04:22to about 40,000 voters.
04:24So that is the biggest challenge for Jai Kumar who enjoys a huge popularity, a huge clout
04:30among the people of Royaburam.
04:40Royaburam has about 40,000 minority voters.
04:43How are you reading their minds?
04:45See, already the minorities, the BJP allied ADMK is, it's not been a good supporter for
04:55the minorities.
04:56You know, like a lot of things, they are going against the minority people.
04:59And we all know well.
05:00And Mr. Jai Kumar, the former minister himself has accepted that he lost elections because
05:05he has been in alliance with the BJP last elections in 2021.
05:09Battleground Royaburam is driven between the personality driven AIA DMK strongman Jai Kumar
05:15squaring off against DMK and its welfare schemes.
05:20In fact, Jai Kumar has been a strong man in this constituency since the year 1991.
05:24But he lost last time and he says that he lost because of DMK's welfare policy, particularly
05:31the thousand rupees scheme for women.
05:33But this time around, it looks like a lot for the AIA DMK really hinges on the crucial
05:3940,000 Muslim vote bank who had en masse voted to the DMK last time around.
05:44Plus that chunk of votes that got transferred to DMK from the AIA DMK in the year 2021.
05:50So it's going to be a very tough two-cornered fight here in Royaburam between Jai Kumar versus
05:57the DMK.
05:59With camera person Daniel Anaga Keshiv reporting for India Today from Royaburam.
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