As the emergence of local collectives like Twenty20 was much talked about in the local body elections in the State, the political space for similar ones had only a short life in Idukki.
The main non- political entities that came to the electoral front in the district in 2015 local body elections were the High Range Sanrakshana Samithy (HRSS ), a collective of various religious groups under the Church and Pengal Outrumai, a platform of women tea estate workers based in Munnar. While HRSS which contested the local bodies elections in 2015 as a partner of Left Democratic From (LDF) got rich dividends, Pengal Outrumai, which stood independently also proved its might in Devikulam taluk. Both of them, however, withdrew from electoral scene this time.
Usually when a non-political organisation enters the political space, it loses the base on which it stood.
Both of the collectives came to the public realm through the massive agitations they launched and were supported by by the general public.
The independently elected members of Pengal Outrumai in Munnar joined with the UDF as their support was needed in the otherwise hung council.
The Pengal Outrumai also witnessed a vertical split and the main group returned to its shell ‘to achieve the goal for which it was formed.’
To continue
An office-bearer of HRSS said it would continue its agitations for protecting the rights of farmers for which it was formed.
In addition, the AIADMK, a political party based in Tamil Nadu also widely fielded candidates in the plantation areas of Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peerumade taluks where majority of people are of Tamil origin.
The party which had a president in Peerumade grama panchayat in 2015 did not even get a member this time. According to a mainstream political leader, those organisations that come to political scenes at the height of their activities soon lose relevance as they have no political plans.
