With the political parties jumping on to technological bandwagon to reach out to the voters, the Election Commission in Puducherry has decided to the use the century old and time tested method of street plays to educate voters.
Starting on Sunday, the street theatre performers led by Konneri Ramasamy will be travelling from village to village to perform street theatre on the importance of voting. The plays form a part of the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP).
The troupe, Makkal Kalai Kazhagam, was chosen by the Department of Art and Culture, Deputy Director of Agriculture who is in charge of the SVEEP’s street play campaign Sezhian Babu said.
Through these dramas, the commission hopes to increase awareness on ethical voting and encourage more people to vote in the upcoming elections.
According to Konneri Ramasamy, he was called in and asked to design a play with four central themes — to encourage 100 per cent voting, to emphasise that everyone’s vote was equal, to educate the people on the Nota option and to ensure that the people checked if their names were on the electoral rolls.
“With these themes, I came up with a play that would help even the uneducated ensure that they voted. The play is based on a rich farmer and his field labourers and goes to show that everyone has an equal vote. It also brings in the concept that taking money for votes is wrong.”
The SVEEP program will be performed in 32 villages across the Union Territory, starting with Murungapakkam and Mudaliarpet on Sunday.
After this, on Monday there will be a performance in Veerampattinam and Manavely.
The last performances will be on April 6 in Sulthanpet and Arumparthapuram a day after the last date for filing nominations.
