Street-corner meets make a quiet exit

Trichy: Major political parties in Trichy gave the traditional street-corner meetings a big miss during the month-long campaign for the assembly election which came to an end on Tuesday. The city police had given permission for holding public gatherings at about 69 points, but iconic meeting spots near the city have passed the peak season without a single public meeting.Traditional campaign venues in the city such as Sarukkupaarai near Rockfort, Sedal Mariyamman Koil near Bhima Nagar, Eda Street Anna statue in Palakkarai, and Kora Street junction in Woraiyur are known for speeches delivered by state and national leaders during elections. Until the 2021 assembly election, the permitted spots hosted multiple election campaigns, with podiums set late in the evening extending to late night. Shops on the roads would down their shutters for the campaign, and vehicular movement used to be partially diverted. In this election, except for MDMK leader Vaiko's public meeting at Woraiyur Pandamangalam, other prominent venues were unutilised. Parties, instead of planning small podiums with seating arrangements, have gone for door-to-door campaigns and canvassing on the move. "There are two reasons for parties skipping street-corner meets, one, to curtail expenditure for the candidate, and the other is limited time slot to complete the campaign. The process of applying for permissions also discouraged parties," K Suresh, CPI councillor from Woraiyur, said.Election Commission of India (ECI) fixed Rs640 per square foot as the rate for establishing podiums to conduct street-corner meetings. While the cap for a candidate to spend was fixed at Rs40 lakh, parties dithered over hiring charges — for plastic chairs it was fixed at Rs 25 apiece. The capacity of most of the street-corner meeting zones ranges between 250 and 1,500 people per site. "Sultry weather has taken a toll on the energy level of not just candidates but speakers and cadres too. The culture of setting up a stage and attracting crowds is slowly vanishing, people are not too keen to listen for hours," T Radhakrishnan, a public speaker from DMK, said. However, the mood over the absence of street meetings is mixed among residents. While some feel fortunate to have skipped the noise pollution, another section is disappointed over missing the experience of listening to political speeches once in five years.