CHENNAI: Rarely has a chief minister of Tamil Nadu taken selfies with commoners, shared a cuppa at a roadside shop or just stood around chatting with people.
On Sunday, chief minister M K Stalin did just that. Cycling with friends along East Coast Road, a passion he has been pursuing for the past year or so, Stalin, dressed in a striking black and red casual sweatshirt with helmet and glasses on, rode on the scenic stretch, waving to people, striking a pose or shaking hands with them.
If he drew curious stares when he cycled along the ECR to Mamallapuram when he was the opposition leader, the response he drew on Sunday was one of awe. It was the first time Stalin was riding on the ECR after he won the assembly election and became CM. With the assembly election taking up all his time, Stalin had stopped cycling from January this year. He rode again on May 1, a day before counting of votes.
“Normally, he cycles in the weekend, Saturday or Sunday. He starts from my house in Neelankarai and we ride up to Mamallapuram for 38km. We have breakfast at Ananda Bhavan and he drives back home,” his son-in-law V Sabarish told the TOI. On Sunday, however, CM Stalin rode from MGM, an amusement park along the ECR, to Mamallapuram, glancing occasionally at the sea scape to his left, his security personnel sticking close to him. After he covered 24km, he chose to have breakfast with his cycling partners in a different hotel in the famous tourist town in view of security protocols.
When Stalin set out at 5am, it was the most unexpected Sunday. Cyclists found themselves pedalling alongside the CM. “We didn’t expect he would continue to ride with us post elections. He remains conscious about his health and fitness,” said Suresh Kumar L B, owner of Pro-Bikes. “He began cycling to raise public awareness about its various health benefits after the pandemic struck,” he said.
The chief minister stopped thrice to greet people and pose with them for selfies. He stopped at a tea stall, about 500m from Kovalam, much to the owner’s surprise. “We used to frequent this stall. But this time, the owner couldn’t believe that he would come after becoming the CM,” said Suresh. There was cheering by passengers in buses as the CM rode his Hybrid bike. Some shouted, “Thalaiva neenga vera level” (Leader, you are on a different level).
“We saw him cycling near Kovalam and took a U-turn to get a closer look. He saw us and stopped and greeted us,” said actress Yashika Aannand. “We wanted to click selfies with him and he politely obliged,” she said.
