T N Elections: beyond the vote

In the heart of Colachel, which hugs the sea in Kanyakumari district, a cavalcade of union minister and Congress (I) leader, G. K. Vasan grinds to a stop at a traffic junction for an impromptu election speech.
The act takes place in the searing April heat for fifteen minutes but all those who have gathered and are passing by stop to listen and then disperse as the caravan heads to Nagercoil.
In his simple office in Colachel,  Fr. J. Joseph sits back and talks about the involvement of the Christian community in politics and in state elections. Midway, he picks up a spiral-bound file and says, "This has all the information that empowers our people."
The Catholic priest, a Vicar Forane who oversees six parish units in this region refers to a conscious effort by the Church and the community leaders to database all the schemes and projects due to this community which enables people to address politicians and officials and engage them.
Caste, religion and community continues to play a huge role in electoral politics and it shows in the 2011 state elections.
So what role do you play in your constituency?
In a few days, the state goes to the polls. On April 13.
And we will have the opportunity to exercise what is perhaps the biggest gift of democracy.
How many of us will really take the trouble to cast the ballot?
How many of us have given some time and thought to the election process? Who are the candidates? What do they stand for? Who really deserves to be supported? Or do we need to demonstrate our disapproval?
I am a tad unhappy with the overly tight regulations that the Election Commission has brought to bear on the campaigns. There are no posters around that will help us to put a face to a name. To know who the candidates are. There are no spaces where candidates and parties can post their agendas and promises and hang their symbols.
Elections are celebrations too. And campaigns need to communicate.
And while civil society is jumping up to hold fasts and take part in candlelight processions for a Hazare, it does not even contemplate hosting community meets for candidates in the fray and for residents in the local constituency.
This is the time for small and active groups to engage with the candidates in a constituency. And to build systems that will be in place when a new legislator is elected to represent you and me so that the engagement moves forward in the days to come.

TN Elections 2011: Meet the Candidates

You organise a New Year party in your apartment complex.
You do your two-bit for a Go Green campaign in your office. You join the walk on the Marina for your Rotary Club's anti-obesity drive.
How about doing your two-bit during this election?
Look around you and you will find an opportunity you should not miss.
There is positive-ness in the air.
Small groups of people are coming together to host face-to-face meetings with the candidates who are seeking your votes and promising you a few good things, a few hollow things and a few tall things.
These people, who live in your neighbourhood are creating a platform. A space where candidates and voters can meet in a less sticky atmosphere. Away from the heat of a campaign.
These are the platforms where you and I can engage with the men and women who want to be our reps.
You can listen to what they have to say and make decisions, collaborate, persuade and challenge.
All this can be done in a civil manner.
You can even help make them raise issues and adopt those which your community feels are important.
The campaign slogans have already become stale. Scams, dynastic rule, price rise, goondagiri. . .yes these are issues at one level. But candidates hardly talk about constituency-level issues.
Traffic management. Environment degradation. Plans for kuppams and slums. Budgets for local civic projects. Law and order.
This is where you come in. You and your community will know these better than the candidates. Raise them. Push them. Or try to understand them.
Hopefully, these meetings will not end with the campaigns. They must be regular and make the new MLA accountable.
That process starts now.

Why your vote counts

Can we really make a difference in an election? At the local level for the City Council, in the Assembly poll or for the Lok Sabha?
Or are politicians making us looking like fools once elections are over?
I think we have been fooled time and again because we allow these reps to get away.
Can you recall the name of the man who was elected Member of Parliament for the South Chennai seat?
Clue: he was from the AIADMK party.
Clue; he was not a film star
Clue: he was a man some AIADMK cadres knew.
The man's name is Rajendran and he is from suburban Chitlapakkam. He won by a whisker, he posed for pictures, he received garlands, he was seen in Delhi a few times and that was the last we saw and heard of him. At least in this part of a huge, high-profile constituency.
Winners of a losing party in this part of the country can be pretty soft.
In the end, it seems to be a game of numbers. So, can we make a difference?
Friend K. Satyanarayan, a book publisher who also has an interest in politics and community life was encouraged with the launch of two web sites for this state election ( www.mylaporevotes.wordpress.com and www.velacheryvotes.wordpress.com).
So he did some homework and mailed us some interesting notes.
• There are 206,078 voters in the Mylapore constituency for the 2011 Assembly elections
• In the past two elections in 2001 and 2006, the winner polled around 62,000 votes.
• The victory margins have been very low in 2001 and 2006. It was as low as 6,047 votes in 2001 and just 1,657 votes in 2006.
• The average turnout over the last 4 Assembly elections was 54%, with the maximum turnout of 63% in 2006 and the lowest turnout of 41% in 2001.
• The past four elections have all been two horse races, with the winner and the runner-up together accounting for 90% of the votes polled.
• If the same trend continues in 2011, a candidate would need to get about 51,000-55,000 votes to win the Mylapore seat.
I assume Satya has not mailed the info for mere armchair debate.
If you read between the lines, there are a few messages for us all. Your vote will make some difference. Be in in Mylapore, Velachery or Virugambakkam.
Before we cast that ballot, if we can engage with the candidates now we may not be 'cheated' the way the elected MP did!