Blistering summer in Tiruchi gives candidates a torrid time

Door-to-door canvassing has become a must to reach voters

Party workers taking a break during campaigning for a sip of tender coconut near Tiruverumbur on Thursday. Photo: M. Moorthy

Even as electioneering has reached a feverish pace, the scorching start to the summer is giving a torrid time for candidates contesting the Lok Sabha elections in Tiruchi and neighbouring districts.

Accentuated by the failure of successive monsoons, summer is off to a blistering start this year too as has been the case over the past three years. The city has already started recording day-time temperature of 40 degree Celsius, three degrees above normal. Neighbouring districts such as Pudukottai, Karur, Perambalur and Ariyalur have also been witnessing similar weather condition.

The normal average temperature in Tiruchi during April is 36.9 C and 37.4 C in May, but in recent years the mercury often crosses the 40 C mark right from April. This is the third consecutive year when the temperature has crossed 40 degree Celsius in April in the city. The all-time record of extreme weather in Tiruchi during April is 42.8 degree Celsius recorded on April 19, 1896. The recent high for the month in the city has been 40.8 degree Celsius recorded on April 18 and 19 in 2012.

Candidates have to brave the energy-sapping conditions to traverse the length and breadth of the constituencies. Given the restrictions on wall writings and other forms of communications, campaign managers say that intensive door-to-door canvassing is a must to reach out to the voters.

“Time is precious for us as we have to traverse the entire constituency which is far and wide. We have to reach out to over 12 lakh voters. It has been very hot, but we have no other option. Fortunately, we have committed workers and they are toiling hard enthusiastically,” said S.Sridhar, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) candidate for the Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency.

Most of the candidates for the constituency start their campaign early, right from 8 a.m. They go on till noon or 1 p.m. to break for lunch and possibly some rest for a couple of hours before hitting the streets again by four or five in the evening.

Amidst the punishing daily campaign schedule, campaign workers take breaks as they seek to beat the heat with a cool sip of tender coconut, buttermilk, watermelons or soft drinks whenever possible. “But this is not possible often as we are constantly on the move,” says a party worker involved in the campaign.

With more than a fortnight to go for the poll day, candidates and cadres clearly have a tough grind ahead.