00:00But we have Minister Mr. Arun Raj joining us.
00:03So I'd like to thank all of you for joining us on this broadcast.
00:06Thank you for joining us.
00:07Let me switch across now to Minister Arun Raj.
00:11Sir, Vanakam, congratulations.
00:14I'll put up the picture that was posted just moments ago
00:17of you with the Honourable Chief Minister
00:20and with the top team of the TVK, as I call you all,
00:22with the signature gesture now that you've slayed in Gen Z terms.
00:27You've slayed this Bible.
00:28How are you feeling, sir?
00:30Tell me what the Chief Minister's message has been after this win.
00:35Vanakam, thank you for having me in your show.
00:38This election has been historic for a few reasons.
00:42First, during the May general elections,
00:46TVK, standing on its own, secured 35% worth share
00:51and managed to win 108 seats.
00:55Few peoples, especially from DMK and all,
00:57were saying that this was a freak accident.
00:59No, the people of the two constituencies have proved that
01:04Tamil Nadu people have voted consciously and deliberately for a change.
01:10They wanted TVK government and Piro Vijay as their CM.
01:16This election has proved that.
01:19So this is an election, which is a testament to the fact that
01:23four months of governance under our Honourable CM,
01:27which was never imagined, people never experienced in the recent past,
01:31which is a transparent, corruption-free government.
01:35So this is the mandate the people had given us and we had fulfilled that mandate.
01:42And this is the result which people have gifted us to us.
01:47Yeah, and our Honourable Chief Minister was really, really, very happy
01:50and he had said that it is our duty to fulfill the aspirations of this,
01:55not only these two, I mean, people of these two constituencies, but the entire state.
02:01Mr. Arun Raj, I do wonder though, was the game changer just the Vijay factor?
02:06Was it just the Chief Minister campaigning in these two seats that sealed the win for the TVK?
02:13Mr. Arun Raj, our leader's campaign definitely had a huge impact.
02:17And also one message which our leader had conveyed definitely was the right cause.
02:24It is because the people of the two other parties, PMK and ADMK,
02:29were campaigning that this election was because of the fact that TVK had
02:37purchased their MLAs, the fact that our leader had clearly sent the message
02:42that it was due to the unholy alliance which the ADMK and DMK,
02:46which they tried to form after the elections to prevent the TVK from forming the government.
02:50It was because of that our ADMK candidate, the previous SWL ADMK candidate,
02:56resigned from her seat and joined TVK.
02:59This message had hit the right cause and this had been a real game changer
03:04for the results.
03:05Mr. Arun Raj, I am not sure if you have seen the reaction that is coming from the DMK.
03:10The former Chief Minister, MK Stalin, has put out a detailed post
03:13where first he suggests that this bipolar is necessitated because of the TVK's horse trading
03:18which you have spoken of.
03:19Second, he says that Chief Minister Vijay visited these two constituencies four times,
03:25indulged in all kinds of theatrics as he calls it,
03:29says he is nothing but a real politician.
03:31What's your response, sir, to the DMK today?
03:38I have seen our former Chief Minister's statement.
03:42He was saying that our CMB had to visit the constituencies two times.
03:48But I would like to state that previously, in the last 15-25 years,
03:53you must have known how by-elections were conducted in Tamil Nadu.
03:57The people, especially DMK 22,000 power, they had hoarded people just like cattle and sheep
04:06in camps.
04:07They had given, they used to spend nearly 5,000 to 10,000 per votes.
04:13But TVK, without spending a single penny to woo the voters, we just campaigned.
04:20We went door to door.
04:20We just highlighted the performance of our government, achievements of our government
04:24and the clean government which our party is giving.
04:30So before the elections, we promised that we will be giving a corruption-free government.
04:34Now we have delivered it.
04:35So we sent all our cadres to the people to convey this message.
04:42This is what we have done.
04:43So, and also, our honourable previous CM's statement that it was Caterix.
04:51I mean, I couldn't, I could only wish that he could really see the pulse of the people
04:56in order to gain, if at all, if they really wish to win the, I mean, the support of the
05:02people.
05:04Sir, what do you declare this mandate to be?
05:07Is it a mandate against caste politics?
05:10Is it a mandate against personal attacks?
05:13Is it a mandate that there is no anti-incumbency that seeped into the ground?
05:18What would you declare this mandate to be?
05:24On the positive side, it is a mandate for the good governance of our honourable CM.
05:30Secondly, it's a mandate against the personal attacks, especially against women.
05:34These other two parties were constantly wielding.
05:37Secondly, that was their only strategy they were using.
05:40And unfortunately, that strategy has failed.
05:43So this mandate clearly conveys these two messages,
05:46as has been rightly pointed out by our honourable CM.
05:49All right.
05:50Mr. Arun Raj, I'll let you get back to the celebrations.
05:53And I'm sure in your case, it must be the non-stop meetings only.
05:56But thank you very much for joining us, Mr. Arun Raj.
06:00Congratulations once again.
