VIRUDHUNAGAR: Enter the Maruthanatham village in Virudhunagar and it feels like you are in Andhra Pradesh. Located about 11 km away from Virudhunagar, majority of people in this nondescript village are Telugus who migrated several decades back. But that isn’t what Maruthanatham is famous for; it’s their insistence on making politicians ‘behave’ that makes the village stand out in the entire State.
While rest of the country is in a festive spirit owing to the upcoming elections, it’s business as usual in Maruthanatham. There are no wall graffiti, no pictures of leaders ubiquitous elsewhere. Village head T Thanenthran tells Express that no political party is allowed to use microphones, musical bands, flex boards or party flags in this village for campaigning.
“It’s a practice we have been following since just after the Independence,” says Thanenthran. “Initially, we allowed normal campaigning activities, but the politicians destroyed the integrity and peace of the villagers,” he claims. “Hence, my forefathers decided not to give any space for political advertising. We are continuing that tradition.”
N Kasirajan, secretary of the Hindu Primary School says this ban on political campaigning has been around for the last 72 years in this village. “He never interferes with our democratic right to vote for a party of our choice,” says Kasirajan. “Some of our villagers have membership in different political parties, but there is not a single party office in our village.”
Former president of Maruthanatham Panchayat, K Shakunthala, recalls how she campaigned without using any flags or symbols. “I just went door to door, telling people why they should vote for me,” says Shankunthala, who was the president 2006 to 2016.