PUDUCHERRY: A carnival-like atmosphere has permeated the Union Territory of Puducherry with banners, posters and cut-outs dotting the entire place and with good reason too.
Almost all political parties, both ruling as well as the opposition, are doing their best to gain maximum political mileage before the election notification comes. Just a stroll down Mahatma Gandhi road is enough to showcase how engrossed they have been.
None of the parties is concerned that the activity has made a complete mockery of the ban on banners and posters.
It was the ruling Congress that had started the trend earlier this month during the visit of union home minister P Chidambaram, who participated in two government functions at Kalapet in north Puducherry and Kurivinatham in south Puducherry, as well as a public meeting in Villianur.
Though welfare minister M Kandasamy had earlier stated in the Assembly that Congress would set an example for enforcement of the ban by not putting up banners and cut-outs during the visit of leaders and on other occasions, all that seems to be a thing of the past with elections just a few months away.
Local leaders also saw it as an opportunity to publicise themselves in their respective areas and the routes through which Chidambaram travelled.
The new entrant on the UT’s political scene, the All Indian NR Congress (AINRC) headed by former chief minister N Rangasamy also seized this opportunity to do a bit of self-promotion. In all important traffic junctions, such as Ajantha square, Rajiv Gandhi statue, Indira Gandhi statue etc the AINRC banners could be seen. Aspiring leaders from the party had also put up banners in their respective constituencies.
Similarly, the DMK and AIADMK banners highlighting their leaders M Karunanithi and M K Stalin and J Jayalalithaa respectively could also be seen.
Interestingly, the VCK which had been at loggerheads with the Congress on the banner issue, had put up a banner of its leader Thol Thirumavallavan.
Also, with some parties it’s a case of the bigger the better, with both the DMK and AIADMK competing on the size of the banners in a bid to include all the local leaders along with the VIPs.
At Muthialpet, the DMK had the longest banner on MG Road leading to ECR.
Turning a blind eye to it all are the enforcement authorities who seem to be taking a lenient approach to the ban and are just waiting for the notification of the polls and the model code of conduct, before they start throwing their weight around.
So far during elections in the UT, the rules pertaining to banners, posters, wall graffiti and cut-outs have been strictly enforced.
Though the opposition parties like the AIADMK and the CPI had taken on the government for non-implementation of the ban and a partisan attitude regarding its implementation in the Assembly some time ago, the government had maintained that it could not be enforced without the co-operation of all political parties.
The sudden surge for the banners has also been triggered with the profile of constituencies having changed following delimitation.
Well-known leaders, MLAs as well as aspirants who were known in the areas of the previous constituencies now have to make their presence felt in areas that have got included in the new profile.
Since the political leaders are aware that they will not get any chance once the election notification comes through, they are simply making hay while the sun shines.
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