Just as the counting of votes for the by-elections to the Erode East Assembly constituency began, hell broke loose at the venue as the candidate representing Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), M K Seethalakshmi, and her supporters started kicked up a ruckus putting the security and other officials in an embarrassing situation.
The unruliness that has come to rule politics
Just as the counting of votes for the by-elections to the Erode East Assembly constituency began, hell broke loose at the venue as the candidate representing Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), M K Seethalakshmi, and her supporters started kicked up a ruckus putting the security and other officials in an embarrassing situation. Though only two registered political parties, the DMK and NTK, were in the race in Erode East, there was very little scope for the NTK to win, which even the candidate and all those boisterous men who stood by her, threatening to turn the counting centre into a warzone, knew very well. Of course NTK bit the dust very badly.
So why did they put up such an unruly scene in the morning as though a hard-earned victory was about to be snatched away from them by the Election Commission or whoever and that only by raising their voice could they retrieve it? Nobody who follows Tamil Nadu politics will ask that question as that has become a norm or rather a daily routine. To be seen, heard and make one’s presence felt in the political sphere one should make noise, speak lies and kick up a scene without bothering to check if they have any valid grievance.
It was in tune with that political trend that the cacophony was raised at the Government College of Engineering, Chithode, the venue for counting of votes for the by-election, as perhaps the last hurrah of the NTK in the hustings. But what does this practice of creating empty noise augur to politics and democracy? In Tamil Nadu it has become the rule with most political parties, particularly those that know that they could not make an impact through the ballot. They make their presence felt, whether it would have any useful consequences or not, wherever they can.
Previously, those noises were made through social networking sites by the leaders of the parties and others who have something to convey to the world at large. So unlike the olden days, most of the political statements started appearing on channels like X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and so on. It has been happening for quite some time that even journalists look up to those social media pages of leaders to keep themselves abreast of political developments.
But what we are referring to here is the real noise like the one that resounded at the engineering college near Erode for no avail – it broke out and then died down. Not all the noise that emanates on and off in other venues and are shriller, besides of a higher decibel, however, die down that easily. Sometimes they threaten to disrupt the peace of the place like it happened at Thiruparankundram in Madurai district. Many feared that the row and that noise it generated on television and social media channels could lead to communal disharmony not just in Madurai district but the entire State of Tamil Nadu.
It did not happen mainly because the common people in the State are primarily peace-loving and have no inclination to fight over religious differences. The dispute that was sought to be raised was over the use of the hill, which houses the first of the six abodes of Lord Murugan, and also a dargah dedicated to the memory of Sikandar Shah. Though the dispute over what belongs to whom on the hill has been resolved a long time ago through court judgments and the people have been using them without any quarrel for a long time, suddenly a series of exchanges on social and other media led to a near flare up.
In that bid to raise a dispute over the Thiruparankundram issue, too, both sides kicked up a noisy row. Self-styled experts and historians yapped over who owns what on the hills, helping the politicians to keep the issue on the boil as much as possible. Even for a protest that was held in Madurai by the group that wants complete control of the hill, a huge crowd gathered. For the other side, too, politicians had turned up at the site earlier, making noise over it though the local people belonging to the two communities lived in harmony and even proclaimed that they had no differences among them.
It was to break that sense of camaraderie between the two religious communities the politicians indulged in such mobilization outside the hills, creating much noise in the process. Not only the politicians made such a hullaballoo when nothing was happening on the ground, nay the hill, they thought that it could be used to set the tone for the next elections, which means to swing popular support in favour of them through the boisterous behavior. Thankfully, none of the politicians who sought the limelight could make much political capital in their bid to flaunt their loyalty to their communities.
But, unfortunately, the culture has definitely caught on in the State’s political arena, where empty talk, misinformation, blatant lies, chest thumping, invoking chauvinistic feelings and denigrating the opponents have become acceptable practices. It is evident from the expanding support base of such leaders, who believe in and practice such skullduggery, in the electoral front - even if they have not yet been handed out victories – the people are changing. They now relish the noises and enjoy watching the boisterous, unruly and dishonest politicians perform their own tricks.
