Civic sense will resonate this election: Activists
CHENNAI : Ever since the pro-Jallikattu protests of 2017 witnessed swarms of people uniting for a cause on the Marina beach and winning, there has been a spurt in civic activism in the city. Many activism groups have ridden this wave and emerged stronger than before and experts believe that they will have a small effect on the upcoming elections.
From ensuring a ban on political banners on roads to exposing financial discrepancies in government projects, activism groups have been busy chipping away at the veil of darkness that governments had been operating behind. The drop in Internet prices after Jio disrupted mobile Internet in 2016 has also helped them mobilise public support and expose wrongdoing to a larger audience.
On the one hand, exposes such as discrepancies in the state’s procurement of coal, and awarding of tenders have shown people the quantum of corruption at play, on the other hand, PILs which have banned political banners on roads and relaying of roads without milling have struck a chord with the common man.
“There is definitely an increase in public sensitivity toward civic issues and they are becoming aware of how corruption affects their everyday life,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, convenor of Arappor Iyakkam, expressing hope that increased civic sense will also resonate in people’s political choices this time.
The middle-class has been known to ignore government wrongdoing, but the effect that smaller activism groups such as Chitlapakkam Rising has had on that demographic in the city are signs of things to come. “We are encouraging people to vote. Elections have always been about fights between the party cadre. We want to bring the common man into the mix to ensure they swing the victory to the deserving candidate,” said Sunil Jayaram, one of the founders of Chitlapakkam Rising.
Veteran journalist and political observer, S Koodalarasan said that the increasing sphere of influence of civic activism is a positive trend for democracy. “The popularity of civic activism groups is being felt at the grassroots level since the Jallikattu protests and people are more informed,” Koodalarsan said, expressing confidence that civic activism groups will have an effect on the electorate.
Makkal Needhi Maiam’s candidate for Kanyakumari constituency, J Ebenezer, who shot to fame during the Jallikattu protests is proof of how far activism has come. “Activism groups are exposing wrongdoing and showing people who are corrupt. This is good, but they should go the extra mile and tell them who or what the alternative is,” Ebenezer said.