It's the jatha season and all political parties are at it. In your opinion, do these long marches really deliver the goods. Or is it more of a going through the motions exercise as nobody wants to call the bluff on the incremental yield of the jatha
Praveenkumar, Parimadam
It really doesn’t make any difference in the mindset of people of Kerala, towards any political party due to these jathas. People are seeing and experiencing the performance of every political parties in the state and they have their own perception about each party, and that can’t be changed through these jathas. Its seems like a customary ritual for the parties to conduct such marches and it has become only a means to give false promises and play blame game, which people of Kerala are seeing over the years. The majority of the Keralites view it just as a procession of some festival time and enjoy the blame game and war of words of the party leaders like watching a play or a comedy skit.
Job C U, Kozhikode
It’s jatha season again. Almost all the political parties in the state conduct long march on a “competition mood” to prove their strength and ability by spending huge amount of money with an eye on the upcoming Assembly polls. Actually these all are “Janadroha Yatras (anti-people)”. Because they create traffic jam, sound and air pollution and also some areas become literally a litter bin. There is no benefit that the public get from these so-called yatras. No positive result will turn out from these marches. I don’t know why the political leaders are not conducting these marches from the reverse direction. i.e. from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod.
T K NANDANAN, KOCHI
Marches undertaken by different political parties to steal a march on others just before the Assembly election have just become a fashion rather than passion. More routinely done than necessary the ‘jatha’ by the political parties is an extravagant or redundant exercise in futility. Time has changed and so is the attitude of the people. Why the parties then still cling to this type of election propaganda? Perhaps these political parties hold it as a litmus test whether their ‘jatha’ leader would be accepted as the Assembly leader (Chief Minister) in case they are voted to power. I think that undertaking ‘jatha’ has no other purpose and meaning than that considering the whole gamut of political aspects.
C P Karunakaran Pillai, Mallappally
In Kerala, ‘jathas’ have been a way of life. At the fall of a hat, people conduct jathas. Assembly election is around the corner. Political parties of all hues take out jathas to educate and motivate common man. The theme is ‘common man’. It is their duty to feed, clad and shelter common man. Once ‘common’ disappears from the picture, politicians and their servants will be in dire straits. Long live common man.
Rani Damien, Kochi
The 'jatha' season of political parties has commenced as a prelude to the coming Assembly elections. This is just a farce. This seemingly 'pied piperly' action is not going to attract the common man and yield the desired result. Actually people expect fruitful action from the elected representatives and not mere eyewash gimmicks. So instead of wasting valuable time indulging in such comic acts, let the parties initiate actual works to alleviate people's woes and work sincerely and selflessly for the betterment of the state. Do away with the 'jathas' and move along the working path.
Jayasree Thampi, T’Puram
In fact, the people of Kerala are bored or disgusted on finding recurring long Kerala marches led by senior leaders of several political parties competing for supremacy in the political arena eyeing on fast approaching elections. Ultimate objective of such marches is to impress people through mere show of strength. However, reality is that more than voluntary political workers, majority might be hired hands by paying wages for work done. Unlike other states, physiography of this tiny state is a possible reason for increase in such marches becoming nuisance to life of people in our society. Moreover, whichever party comes in to power, ultimately it is old wine in new bottle and life becomes costlier with each passing day. Pertinent question is whether these political parties will revolutionise their style of functioning?
M KRISHNA KUMAR, KAYAMKULAM
It is high time the political leaders understood that everyone couldn’t be fooled forever. The Kerala March conducted by almost all the prominent political parties is nothing but just an eyewash which is usually pooh-poohed by the common people who are the beneficiaries of the latest and fastest means of communication. These types of gimmicks and tricks make political icons and stalwarts laughing stocks of which they are ignorant and they are dancing to the tune of their own folly. These types of legerdemain create not only financial burden but also inconvenience to the different strata of society. These marches add fuel to choking traffic which is a bane for almost all cities towns and even semi-towns. All these things are the result of the panic of the imminent Assembly election.
Best debater
C P Jose
Kochi
Accompanied by a convoy of vehicles, the self-serving politicians “tour” the state from one end of the state to the other to “save the state.” This is nothing but an image-building exercise for some people to position themselves as a possible contender for the post of Chief Minister, party president/secretary, Opposition Leader or convert them as "power centres" for a tough bargaining within the party at a later stage. As Communist Manifesto states, the spectre of Jatha is haunting Kerala again. It is high time both the media and the common man ignored such public nuisances as these jathas can only aggravate the level of atmospheric pollution (noise and emissions from vehicles) further, disturb the students preparing for examinations, trouble patients being treated at the hospitals and also distract the attention of devotees praying at the places of worships.
A majority of our debaters shared the same opinion that the present type of jathas end up as mere image-building exercise for a few leaders. The debaters say the rallies do not raise the needs of the mass and fail to connect with them. We, at ‘Express,’ feel that the leaders who want to reach out to the masses with their political ambitions should try alternative and novel methods to attain their goal to make an impact on society