Perambur has no time for politics

At 7:30am on a weekday, government employee S Jayavelu is buying vegetables before heading to work. As a loudspeaker starts blaring from the bus stand nearby and party workers unfurl flags, the 56-year-old barely spares the scene a passing glance.

“Five years ago, they came promising the same things. Now they are back though nothing has been done,” says Jayavelu, a resident of Union Carbide Colony in Kodungaiyur in Perambur constituency. “We only get water between 6am and 7am, then again at 7.30pm, and the voltage keeps fluctuating,” he adds, before hurrying away.

While candidates may think it’s a great idea to beat the heat by campaigning early in the morning, it’s rush hour for the working class, which forms the bulk of the population in Perambur. As women in yellow saris alight from a vehicle and R Soundararajan, CPM candidate and sitting MLA, begins a speech, people on foot and on two-wheelers rush to get to work on time.

Soundararajan garlands a bust of Mahatma Gandhi as a band plays. He walks down the road, stopping to talk to people and hand out pamphlets. Venkalakshmy, 50, who sells puja materials from a pushcart, smiles excitedly as he promises better amenities, and agrees to vote for the party. As he strides away she grins and says, “Anyway, I don’t face any problems with power or water because I don’t even have a house. I sleep on the pavement.”

Bad roads, poor bus connectivity, lack of power and water plague the constituency, where DMK and AIADMK are in a close fight. For the last 15 years, the Left parties in alliance with the DMK have held the seat. This time, the Left has joined the PWF and will have to fight its own battle.

CPM’s Soundararajan will have to defend his turf against AIADMK’s P Vetrivel and N R Dhanapalan of Perunthalaivar Makkal Katchi, a DMK ally. Campaigning at Moolakadai, Dhanapalan walks into small lanes off GNT Road, talking to residents and taking a dig at his rivals. “The last government promised everything but you still have no drinking water or power,” he says.

In the evening, Vetrivel — best known for sacrificing his seat in RK Nagar in 2015 so that party chief Jayalalithaa would have a sure shot at winning a bypoll held after she was acquitted in the disproportionate assets case — makes his way around Sharma Nagar. His evening campaign isn’t in deference to the sun — he’s also hitting the roads of his former constituency of RK Nagar to ensure a huge margin for his idol, Jayalalithaa.

Dusk falls, the microphones fade, and people make their way back home. The mood is best summed up by Ashraf, 55, who embellishes his comment with a crooked smile and a wink: “Everyone makes promises but god knows if and when anything will change. I agree to vote for every candidate who comes, hoping they will give me an incentive.”