IN Tamilnadu, the campaign of the Left parties for the 16th Lok Sabha elections has started, witnessing massive and enthusiastic turnout of cadres and supporters at workers' preparatory meetings in various constituencies. Addressing a meeting of the CPI(M) and CPI workers at Tiruchi on March 23, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member K Varadharajan said he had organised and addressed many meetings of workers for various elections in the same city; but this time he was witnessing great enthusiasm and inspired mood among the party cadres and supporters. After a long period, the two major Left parties had joined hands in the state to face an important election. This would surely create an important turning point in the political scenario in the state, Varadharajan added. The CPI(M) leader stated that the Congress had already earned an electoral rout in the state, while the DMK, a former ally of the Congress, has been rejected by the people. The BJP’s alliance in the state was highly contradictory, and the MDMK’s election manifesto was rejected by BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu on the Sri Lanka issue. This alliance also embraces PMK and DMDK which are each other’s rivals. They can only work to defeat one another, Varadarajan added. He also criticised the chief minister and AIADMK leader, Ms Jayalalithaa J, saying that she should clarify on which side her party is at the national level and openly tell whether she supports the Congress, the BJP or an alternative to both. Varadharajan said this while addressing a mass meeting that inaugurated the campaign for S Sridhar, the CPI(M)’s candidate in Tiruchi constituency.   JAYALALITHAA REFRAINS FROM CRITICISING BJP EARLIER on the day, addressing a press conference at Tiruchi, CPI(M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan criticised that  Tamilnadu chief minister Jayalalithaa; he said the latter owes an explanation as to why she was refraining from criticising the Bharatiya Janata Party and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in her election campaign. Ms Jayalalithaa was targeting the Congress and the DMK, but avoiding any criticism of the opportunistic alliance of the “communal and casteist forces” forged by the BJP, he said. “Ms Jayalalithaa has been rightly criticising the anti-people policies of the United Progressive Alliance government and the DMK. We have no objection to this. When there is not much difference in the economic policies pursued by the Congress and the BJP, the question arises why she has not criticised the BJP or Mr Modi,” Ramakrishnan told reporters. SAVING THE NATION FROM CORRUPTION, COMMUNALISM THIS was not just an election to win seats but to save the nation from the communal forces as well as corrupt leaders, said D Pandian, Tamilnadu state secretary of the Communist Party of India. He was addressing a meeting held in Coimbatore on the same day to launch the election campaign of the CPI(M) nominee and sitting Lok Sabha member P R Natarajan. The CPI leader said it was a legitimate fight to save the nation from being sold out to capitalists and multinational companies. For this purpose, workers of the Left parties must have to reach out to all the voters, explain the alternative policies and seek their votes, Pandian added. While meeting the people, the Left cadres could take pride in being more qualified than the workers of other parties, for being committed to an ideology that would protect the country and its people, and for being free from corruption. No communist nominee was tainted, he said. Pandian asked the CPI and CPI(M) workers to explain to the people why the formation of the next government was crucial to the country’s economy as many Indian and foreign companies were keen to have a friendly government in New Delhi, one that would help them exploit the nation’s natural and other resources. We must bear in mind that these forces were out to loot the country's precious and hard-earned wealth. 90 LAKH GRADUATES UNEMPLOYED IN TN EARLIER, on March 22, the CPI(M)-CPI combine launched its election campaign from Madurai for the Madurai Lok Sabha constituency. The CPI(M)’s B Vikraman is contesting here. CPI(M) Central Committee member T K Rangarajan, who kick-started the campaign, said the parties that did not enter into alliance with the Left parties would regret their decision at a later stage. Addressing the cadres gathered in a huge meeting to introduce Vikraman, Rangarajan said the 10 years of UPA rule at the centre had created hatred and disillusionment among people owing to its wrong economic policies. He also criticised the political parties in Tamilnadu which have aligned with the Bharatiya Janata Party for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls. “The BJP is not only against the minorities but also works against the socially backward and oppressed classes. It is a party that treats minorities as second class citizens,” he added. Dismissing the claims of both the DMK and the AIADMK that the state had progressed during their tenures, Rangarajan said the reality was obvious in the employment exchanges where around 90 lakh graduates had registered themselves for jobs and suffering due to unemployment. K Varadharajan and G Ramakrishnan addressed the cadres and supporters of the Left parties at Dindigul and Palani. T K Rangarajan addressed them in Virudhunagar constituency. In other constituencies where the CPI(M) and CPI are jointly contesting, various leaders of both the parties launched the campaign. CPI(M) NOMINEES IN THE STATE Earlier, on March 17, the CPI(M) announced its candidates for nine of the Lok Sabha constituencies in Tamilnadu. These including two women (U Vasuki for North Chennai and S Tamilselvi for Thanjavur) and two dalit candidates. Talking to reporters, CPI(M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan said one of the dalit candidates, K Samuel Raj, is for the Virudhunagar general constituency. He is the general secretary of the Tamilnadu Untouchability Eradication Front (TNUEF). Another dalit candidate, G Anandhan will enter the fray in the Villupuram reserved constituency. He is a member of the party’s state committee. The party has re-nominated its sitting MP, P R Natarajan, in Coimbatore from where he was elected in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. A V Bellarmine will once again contest from Kanyakumari. Bellarmine was elected from Nagercoil in 2004, before it was renamed after delimitation. Madurai Urban district secretary of the party, B Vikraman, is the candidate for the Madurai constituency which had elected the party’s candidate, late Comrade P Mohan, two times in the past. S Sridhar, the party’s Tiruchi district secretary, is the candidate for Tiruchi. Dindigul district secretary N Pandi will contest from Dindigul.  U Vasuki, Central Committee member of the party, is the daughter of senior CPI(M) leaders R Umanath and the late Pappa Umanath. Tamilselvi is the Thanjavur district secretary of the All India Democratic Women’s Association. Two days later, the CPI announced also its nominees for nine seats. After the announcements, a large number of supporters expressed their solidarity with the Left. Among them was K Jakkiahyan, leader of the Arunthamizhar Viduthalai Iyakkam, an organisation for the uplift of Arunthathiya dalit people, visited to the state committee office of the CPI(M). Here he met G Ramkarishnan and Central Committee member P Sampath, and confirmed his organisation’s support for the Left candidates.