TIRUCHY: It mostly is about basic demands such as drinking water and roads; at times for demands ranging from taluk division to community certificate; and there are demands that are outside the purview of the State government, like retrieving fishing vessels now under the custody of the neighbouring country. Poll boycott, a protest that is loud though not exactly potent as a threat, continues election after election. Though it is losing steam after each passing poll, it still is being held out as a threat, in the hope that their voice would not be lost in the wilderness.
What initially was a political plank of the ultra-left, which dubbed elections as a pseudo exercise in the post-Emergency era, has turned into a tool of protest to highlight various demands. Now, the times have changed and so have the political dynamics of elections as well as the boycott threats. Only the Maoists are still wedded to poll boycott.
The demands are varied: from fisherfolks of Nambiyar Nagar in coastal Nagapattinam to jallikattu enthusiasts in the hinterland, there are several instances this time around.
Worried over the fate of fishing vessels impounded by Sri Lankan Navy and left to the vagaries of nature for months together, fishermen of Nambiyar Nagar in Nagapattinam have decided to stay away from voting, and have also warned parties against campaigning in their locality that has over 3,650 voters.
In the case of jallikattu enthusiasts, the demand is to hold the traditional sport and similar events like rekla race, manju virattu and rooster fight as government festivals. Initially, the Jallikattu Pathukaappu Nala Sangam had decided to boycott the polls.
According to T Rajesh, joint state secretary of the outfit, this would have a big impact on the polls, as there are an estimated 20,000 jallikattu enthusiasts each in the central and some of the south districts. The threat was noted by the election commission, which contacted and asked them to withdraw the boycott call to ensure 100 per cent voting.
Now, the association has decided to instead contest in the election, threatening to upset the calculations of all parties who have not yet heeded to their repeated representations.
Residents of Kanakapillaiyur village in Karur district have announced poll boycott last Tuesday demanding completion of the Cauvery drinking water scheme.
In Pudukkottai, villagers of Akarapatti have threatened to stay away from the election in protest against a granite quarry that allegedly posed a health hazard. For those in Kothampatti and Korampatti villages, the demand is a polling station in their locality as the existing one in Ariyanipatti is 5 km away.
“No doubt, these would embarrass elected representatives. But, more than the desire to be part of the development bandwagon, most of these poll boycott protests are for basic amenities like drinking water, drainage bus facilities,” said noted economist and commentator Venkatesh B Athreya.
All the same, he admits that such protests have the backing of the opposition parties, which derive political mileage, and such calls for boycott are withdrawn in a few days after assurances from officials.