Behind Stalin, Rahul’s ‘sweet’ bonhomie, a show of INDIA strength amid key battle for West TN

On his way to address the mega poll rally in Coimbatore, organised by the DMK-led alliance for its candidates from Tamil Nadu’s western districts on Friday evening, Rahul Gandhi made an unscheduled stop at Shree Vigneshwara Sweets and Bakes in Singanallur. The Congress leader stepped out of his bulletproof vehicle to cross over a divider on foot.

Rahul’s purchase in the sweet shop, ‘Mysore Pak’ and 1 kg of gulab jamun, was meant for a special recipient: Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin. When a shop staffer asked him about the person for whom he was buying sweets, Rahul said: “For my elder brother, Stalin”.

The Congress posted the video of Rahul’s ‘surprise visit’ to the sweet shop onX. Responding to his ally’s post, Stalin wrote: “anbirkum undo adaikkum thaal” (Can love be stopped). Later, at the rally venue at Chettipalayam, Rahul presented the sweet box to a visibly delighted Stalin.

அன்பிற்கும் உண்டோ அடைக்கும்தாழ்!

Touched and overwhelmed by the ‘sweet gesture’ from my brother <a href=«https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi?ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">@RahulGandhi

.

On June 4th, <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDIA?src=hash&ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">#INDIA

will surely deliver him a sweet victory! https://t.co/0QPhRsLKTQ

— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) <a href=«https://twitter.com/mkstalin/status/1778986217436336211?ref_src=» https: class="" rel=«nofollow, noopener» target="_blank">April 13, 2024

With Rahul’s ‘sweet gesture’ and Stalin’s happy pictures and their warm hug – a carefully choreographed move in public to project a robust INDIA alliance for the Lok Sabha elections – the event was probably one of the largest poll rallies held so far in