Coimbatore: With the 17th Lok Sabha elections around the corner, election fever has gripped the entire country. Though election campaigns are in full swing across the country, there seems to be an eerie silence in the city of Coimbatore.
Coimbatore: With the 17th Lok Sabha elections around the corner, election fever has gripped the entire country. Though election campaigns are in full swing across the country, there seems to be an eerie silence in the city of Coimbatore.
While the silence on the streets greets the common man, election fever seems to be rising high only on social websites and WhatsApp. Political parties have begun to rely heavily on technology by carrying out tirades against rival parties on Facebook and WhatsApp groups.
Reluctant independent candidates
When elections are announced, the norm would be new faces filing nominations, with a few even arriving in unique attire to grab attention. But this year, in spite of March 19 being the date for filing nominations, only two independent candidates have filed their nominations in Coimbatore and two in Pollachi, thus far. Election offices seem deserted since there has been a dearth of independent candidates thronging the office amidst fanfare.
Some of the political outfits which were expected to file nominations in Coimbatore constituency have also backed down. Since it has been a known fact that even prominent political parties cannot seem to recover their deposit in the elections, independent candidates have shown reluctance in contesting elections, a number that has fallen drastically. In the final scheme of things, Coimbatore will probably see only a few candidates in the running this year.
Prominent parties off the blocks at snail's pace
The CPI (M) has fielded P R Natarajan as its candidate, on the very same day when Coimbatore constituency was allotted to the party, which is part of the DMK-led alliance.
Following this, P R Natarajan made a slew of promises including measures to reopen industries which were closed due to factors such as demonetization, GST, measures to stop drinking water projects being handed to Suez and so on. He began his campaign by convening meetings with members of other allied parties in the DMK coalition, as well as meeting with other like-minded fronts. The CPI (M) has also begun its campaign on social websites and released a separate election manifesto for the Coimbatore constituency. And yet, strangely, their campaign is yet to hit the roads.
In the AIADMK alliance, Coimbatore constituency has been allotted to the BJP. Ex-MP and Coir Board Chairman, C P Radhakrishnan has been announced as the BJP candidate for Coimbatore.
Meeting the common man and seeking votes seems to be the last one on the agenda with party meetings, meetings with allied parties and other electoral campaigns lined up. Both the contestants of BJP and CPI (M) are well-known faces among the people of Coimbatore. As both have served as MPs in past times, people are aware of their efficiency to a certain extent. After filing nomination next week, the party candidates are expected to begin their campaign, due to which both parties are moving at snail's pace to knock on the voter's door.
New parties
Appadhurai has been announced as the candidate for AMMK. Though the party have an established vote bank in the Delta and Southern districts, there has been no trace of support for the party in the North Zone. As people are also not familiar with the faces of the candidates, speculation is rife about determining the election symbol of the party. There has not yet been a conclusion on whether the party will contest in the ‘cooker’ symbol or a separate symbol for every constituency. The party has decided to begin campaigning only after obtaining its election symbol.
Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam will contest on the ‘torch light’ symbol but will announce its candidate for Coimbatore constituency only on March 24. Professor Kalyanasundaram has been confirmed as the candidate for Naam Tamilar Katchi which contests on the 'sugarcane farmer' symbol.
Campaigning by these parties are expected to begin only after the announcement has been made officially. These newbie parties which are facing the election for the very first time may not have a huge impact in the election peruse, but can be instrumental in splitting the vote bank.
With the date for filing of nominations ending on March 26, not many nominations are expected to be filed this week. Prominent parties are expected to file nominations only during the last two days before the last date for nominations, candidates are expected to reach the houses of voters late, this year. A few parties and independent candidates are expected to campaign on the streets only after gaining their election symbols.