Surging crowd at CM Stalin’s roadshow chokes Bengaluru Highway in Ambur, Vaniyambadi

The Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH-48) in Ambur town in Tirupattur was enveloped with a sea of crowd, young and old, holding party flags, balloons, and petitions in their hands, and greeted Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, who walked around one kilometre on the stretch as part of his road show on Wednesday.  

He began his roadshow from the outskirts of the town and got down from the specially-designed vehicle near the elevated corridor of the stretch to interact with the public and pose for photographs with children. “It was a dream come true to greet the Chief Minister at the road show. We have been waiting for hours to see him in person. Finally, we made it,” said Shabana Begam, a graduate. 

While jubilant party cadre were seen waving DMK’s red-and-black flags and cheering him, the women were equally cheerful in greeting the Chief Minister for introducing several welfare measures including Chief Minister’s Breakfast scheme for school students and monthly financial assistance of ₹1,000 under the Kalaignar Mahalir Urimai Thittam.

No road space on the stretch, including the concrete median, was left unoccupied as surging crowds were pushing each other to get a glimpse of their beloved leader of the State. Non-stop slogans were chanted by party cadre to keep the mood upbeat.

The performance of traditional folklore artists on both sides of the stretch kept the crowd glued to the roadshow. Security personnel had a daunting task in controlling the crowd as people never missed an opportunity to get a close look. Some even managed to click a photograph with the Chief Minister, who was waving to the crowd with a smile all through the roadshow. 

Throughout the journey of the roadshow, Mr. Stalin received petitions from elderly people, both men and women. He also readily posed for selfies with youngsters waiting with their mobile phones.

Later, the Chief Minister halted in Vaniyambadi town on the stretch before he opened the statue of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi in Tirupattur town. After a night halt in Tirupattur town, the Chief Minister will attend a public function where he will handover government assistance to beneficiaries and address the gathering at Mandalavadi village near Jolarpet railway station on Thursday (June 26). He will return to Chennai by boarding the West Coast Express train around noon on the same day (Thursday).