What was once the staple of politics in Tamil Nadu and its electioneering tradition seems to have very nearly vanished. Street corner meetings, once the basic outreach of all major parties, thrives only in certain pockets, especially in rural areas. In the cities, it is nearly gone.
Long fiery speeches, loaded with information about parties and even the Opposition, by men of oratorical skills used to echo from street corners and important junctions during the election season earlier.
“We used to prepare well by reading books and newspapers for these meetings. And at the street corner meetings too, the speakers, irrespective of the party, used to give respect to the Opposition candidate. Speaking the local dialect was important to keep the audience enthralled,” says Erode Iraivan, 50, of the DMK’s literary wing. He has been speaking at street corner meetings since 1986.
He says many speakers have different methods to keep their throat healthy, so that they can speak for a long time. “Some have hot water and tea, some keep raisins in the mouth and keep swallowing the juice and some won’t even have water. Speakers like R. Vetrikondan of the DMK used to have cold water after the speech and even ice creams,” he recalls.
However, there aren’t many street corner meetings this election season, especially in the city, and the orators have a minimal role. “One of the main reasons is the lack of time. Another is the advancement of technology and social media. Now the messages of the leaders reach the masses on their smartphones,” says K. Srinivasa Gandhi, former councillor of the Vellore City Corporation, who has been in politics for three decades.
Mr. Iraivan says it is similar to how television serials ate up drama. “We don’t have to leave the house to get entertainment now. Similarly, audio messages about leaders can be shared easily on message-sharing platforms.”
Many politicians point out that difficulty in getting permission for the meetings is also a reason. M.C. Prabhakar, CPI(M) Pallavaram Area Committee secretary, says it takes a lot of time to get permission for meetings from different government departments, including the police. “We managed to hold a meeting on Tuesday at Radha Nagar, Chromepet, in support of the DMK candidate contesting in Pallavaram. S. Narasimhan, district committee member, CPI(M), and A. Bakiyam, South Chennai district secretary, took part in it. Earlier, we used to speak for over two hours. Now, for lack of time, we speak only for 20 minutes...,” he explains.
Mr. Iraivan claims he has held over 100 street corner meetings in Erode. “I would not say it has faded completely. But it is vanishing slowly.”
Knowing the importance of such meetings, young politicians are having a mix of street corner meetings and digital campaigns. “We will hold meetings at market places and bus stands and share them on social media. This will help to get the message across to more people,” says R. Kalaiyenthiri, Naam Tamilar Katchi candidate at Gudiyatham.
