File Photo: Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa. (Agence France-Presse)
In a bid to counter arch rival DMK which is harping on youth mantra, ruling AIADMK today said that it would hold massive youth re urgence rallies across Tamil Nadu on March 7.
DMK is celebrating its leader Stalin's 62nd birthday today as "Youth Awakening Day" and a string of events are being held statewide to mark the day.
DMK's effort to connect with the youth who form a sizable chunk of electorate is evident and in recent times Mr Stalin is also quite active on Twitter and Facebook.
Mr Stalin urged the youth to dedicate themselves to the cause of "Zero Discrimination" coinciding with United Nation's Zero Discrimination day which is being observed today.
Notably, Mr Stalin has also been DMK youth wing chief for over three decades. The wing is organising a huge blood donation drive to collect one lakh units of blood.
Against this background, AIADMK said it would hold massive youth wing rallies on March 7.
AIADMK chief Jayalalaithaa has directed party MLAs and MPs to participate in the rallies and asked youth functionaries to coordinate with all other party wings and hold rallies in their respective areas to make it a big success.
Party youth wings or "camps" as it is called in Tamil "Ilangyar Pasarai" and "Ilampengal Pasarai" for men and women were founded on March 7, 2008 by Ms Jayalalithaa when it was the main opposition party to infuse new blood and rejuvenate it.
The rallies are expected to be a morale booster for party cadres who are glum after Jayalalithaa's conviction last year by a court in Bengaluru in a disproportionate assets case and also to prepare the workers for next year's elections.
"A resurgence day rally will be held in all party districts on March 7 to continue to encourage youth wing functionaries and to mark the founding of Ilangyar Pasarai and Ilampengal Pasarai," Ms Jayalalithaa said in a statement.