Unaware of Tamil Nadu going to be the site of the gruesome assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi along with 15 others at Sriperumbudur on May 21 in 1991, the State, till then, witnessed the run-up to the elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assembly in a manner no different from the previous occasions. Originally, May 26, 1991 was fixed as the date of polling in the State. But, it was postponed to June 15 in the wake of the assassination.
In tune with the State’s characteristic, the poll campaign then too reached feverish pitch with leaders from various parts of the country descending and local leaders launching an all-out effort to sway the voters. Public and street corner meetings were all going on, as usual, with major political parties keeping the cadres in good humour - which meant providing them food, funds, and liquor in many cases.
According to an estimate put out by The Hindu in a report on May 12, 1991, a candidate for the Assembly seat would have to cough up between ₹6 lakh and ₹10 lakh, depending on the composition and spread of the constituency, while a Lok Sabha candidate may have to find anything from ₹25 lakh to ₹30 lakh. “Perhaps the parties may be in a position to offer 20 per cent of this, the rest depends on the influence and resourcefulness of the contestants,” it stated.
