New Delhi: Populist schemes like colour TV sets, 1 kg rice for Re 1 and loan waiver for farmers seemed to have worked wonders for ruling DMK which put up an impressive show in Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu defeating an alliance led by its rival the AIADMK which had made Tamil Eelam an election issue.
DMK bagged 18 of the 21 seats it had contested. The victory came after both the national and local media had written off the DMK and Congress citing the public outrage against the combine for its failure to bringing about a ceasefire in Sri Lanka.
Political analysts feel the colour TV sets which were distributed to BPL households across the state and rice for a cheaper price made an impact among the people which made them to vote for the alliance.
Analysts also say the pro-Eelam stand taken by the AIADMK on the eve of elections backfired.
Though UPA could not repeat its 2004 spectacular performance this time, the DMK won from 18 of the 21 seats it contested while many Congress veterans lost their seats.
The state's UPA tally of 27 will bring stability to the Congress-led UPA government, which is short of some seats of majority.
Last time, it was 40 out of 40 from Tamil Nadu that helped the UPA form the government at the Centre with the DMK playing a major role in the coalition.