Politics minus the sound and fury in two villages in Theni

People have said ‘no’ to posters, graffiti, festoons and flags

As campaign pitch rises elsewhere in Tamil Nadu, it is just another day at Badrakalipuram in Bodi constituency of Theni. Photo: G. Karthikeyan

Even as loudspeakers, festoons and party flags are common features in hundreds of villages in Theni district as electioneering reaches a high pitch, two villages in the constituencies of Andipatti and Bodi have none of them. While they strive to enforce the model code of conduct elsewhere, election officials have it easy at Badrakalipuram in Bodi and Okkaraipatti in Andipatti.

In a three-decade-old practice, the people in the two villages have said ‘no’ to posters, graffiti, festoons and party flags to maintain peace and communal harmony.

Island of calm

Badrakalipuram gives off no signs that an election is just a few days away. The village transformed itself into a “model village” in 1980 after a series of election-related clashes. The community was divided vertically with people on one side of the political fence boycotting those on the other, even if it means giving a miss to weddings and funerals of close relatives. A rethink led to a blanket ban on hoisting party flags, posters and graffiti, T. Kamatchi, a farmer, says.

“Even youngsters who migrated to other Indian cities and abroad obey this order when they visit the village,” he says.

“We allow the cavalcade of political leaders to pass through the village and campaign. The parties are allowed to make temporary arrangements. But a platform or dais is not permitted. The village has representatives of all political parties. It is their responsibility to brief their leaders about the village order. A few minutes after a campaign, you cannot find a trace of it,” M. Kaliappa Thevar of the village says.

“We have not gone to a police station in the past 20 years to resolve disputes. We do not insist that people should vote for a particular party,” Mr. Thevar says.

A community-managed school run using a “village tax” collected from each house has been registering impressive results in public examinations for the past eight years.

Violence

Okkaraipatti too faced similar violence in 1977. “Rasu Thevar of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was instrumental in imposing the ban,” Elango of the village says.

The village has gone one step further as it selects candidates for local bodies, instead of going for an election. Panchayat presidents and members are elected unanimously by adopting a turn system that gives equal opportunity to all caste groups.