Tamil Nadu poll aspirant & actor Mansoor Ali Khan sits beside garbage; logs citizen issues

Kollywood actor Mansoor Ali Khan sat near a pile of garbage to grab the eyeballs of the voters in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. Sitting next to garbage while petting a stray dog, Mansoor Ali Khan - who is contesting as an independent candidate from the Thondamuthur constituency - interacted with voters who were passing by.  With a notebook in his hand along with a pen, Mansoor Ali Khan was seen jotting down the problems of the people along with their contact details and assured them of addressing their grievances when he was elected as MLA. Elections are scheduled to be held in Tamil Nadu in a single-phase

Mansoor Ali Khan was previously with Seeman's Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) and fought the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from the Dindigul constituency. However, Mansoor Ali Khan announced his decision to contest as an independent candidate in the 2021 Assembly elections and filed his nomination papers from the Thondamuthur constituency on March 18. The actor, who has campaigned solo for the polls, visited many public places including parks, fish markets and other places and interacted with the public. Coimbatore's Thondamuthur constituency will see a contest between Minister SP Velumani of AIADMK and DMK’s Karthikeya Sivasenapathy. 

Tamil Nadu Assembly elections

With AIADMK announcing its state alliance with BJP, the EPS-OPS-led party has declared itself as the ' big brother' in the NDA alliance. Former Jaya aide Sasikala announced her sudden decision to quit politics, thereby ending speculations of her role in the upcoming elections. The AIADMK has also survived a long-running tug-of-war over its leadership with Sasikala announcing her intention to retire from politics, and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran allying his AMMK with the SDPI, Asaduddin Owaiai's AIMIM and Captain Vijaykanth's DMDK. Meanwhile, in a bid to woo voters, EPS has announced a massive farm loan waiver, free COVID vaccines, Pongal gift and rescinded cases against Jallikattu protestors, anti-CAA protestors, COVID lockdown violators and Kudankulam nuclear power plant protestors. Meanwhile, ex-CM Karunanidhi's successor - DMK chief MK Stalin eyes his maiden CM term as DMK cannot afford to lose a third straight Assembly election after sweeping the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls with 38 seats. 

Image credits: Republic