TENKASI: With just two days left for the rural local body polls in Tenkasi district, electioneering has reached a feverish pitch in the newly formed district.
With each voter poised to elect a village panchayat ward member, panchayat president, union councillor and district panchayat councillor, campaigns have been intense. However, violations of electoral and Covid-19 norms have also been high.
At K R Colony, a calm residential locality in Kuthukalvalasai panchayat a kilometre away from the district collectorate, more than a dozen candidates and hundreds of campaigners move about with speakers blazing on vehicles several times a day. The noise level goes up when another candidate enters the area. Seven candidates each are contesting for the post of panchayat president and panchayat union councillor apart from contestants for the district panchayat councillor.
On Saturday, none of the campaigners TOI saw wore a mask, leaving many residents worried as the campaigners knock at every door and don’t leave till voters receive their pamphlet. When quizzed about the mask, one candidate said it was meant for people to recognise him. However there was no justification why others did not wear one.
Residents’ welfare association president Subbaiah and secretary Mohanadass get special attention as candidates refuse to leave without honouring them with silk shawls, hoping they would help them bag the nearly 450 votes in the locality. “I got over half a dozen shawls on Saturday,” Mohanadass said.
J Aleesha, 32, was furious on seeing a campaign poster affixed on her store without her permission, and tore it off. There were houses with posters of multiple candidates. While candidates have to obtain residents’ nod to affix posters on their walls, few care to do that. Most residents don’t remove posters fearing consequences for the next five years.
Caste plays a crucial role in these polls too. Kasiviswanathan, a local DMK functionary, said the SC reserved panchayat has 60% nadar voters and 20% each of dalit and thevars. I Kaniammal who is on the fray for panchayat president post hopes to net her community’s votes as well as of her husband’s nadar community.
