This Article is From Sep 04, 2015

Why This Politician Believes He Can be Tamil Nadu's Next Chief Minister

A screenshot from the app launched by PMK youth wing chief Anbumani Ramadoss, who aspires to be the next Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

Chennai: His party had only six per cent vote share in the last Tamil Nadu elections, when J Jayalalithaa steamrolled all opposition. But Anbumani Ramadoss, aspiring chief minister, believes he has a chance in 2016.

Primarily because he is the best educated and youngest among potential CM candidates for the Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu due early next year, says the politician, who is a medical doctor and was the country's health minister at 36.

To connect with the young in the state, Dr Anbumani, youth wing chief of the Pattali Makkal Katchi or PMK has launched a mobile app today called 'For Change'.

"I want to have an emotional connect with voters. With this app, they can share their problems in their constituency, even in their street so we could ask our party workers to sort them out," he said.

The 47-year-old says his strategy is to strike a chord digitally with young first-time voters who account for two-thirds of the five crore electorate in the state, according to Election Commission statistics.

Many of the first-timers, Dr Anbumani reckons, are as yet neutral voters and will decide in the next few months who they would like as their chief minister. He wants to be out there with his app, influencing that decision.  

For years now, Tamil Nadu has chosen one or the other of two big parties - Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's AIADMK and the DMK, led by M Karunanidhi and his son MK Stalin.

"Youngsters want a change," said Dr Anbumani, also pointing out that he is considerably younger than Mr Stalin, 62, and Ms Jayalalithaa, 67, and so will have more appeal with the young. Vijayakanth of the DMDK, another CM aspirant, is 63. M Karunanidhi is 91.

His app has competition though - both MK Stalin and Vijayakanth already have mobile apps.

An estimated two crore people access the internet on their phones, say mobile operators. "These apps would be a game changer in this election," said Viral Thaker, founder of digital marketing firm The Social People.
 
.