Top-notch literary figures, seen as generally reluctant to be part of mainstream electoral politics, are shedding their inhibitions these days.
Well-known writers Manushyaputhiran and Jayamohan have openly extended support to political parties. Jayamohan, through his highly popular website, backs the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidates. Manushyaputhiran is likely to hit the campaign trail for the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
“I will campaign for DMK candidates in Chennai and seven neighbouring districts from April 5 as I strongly believe only the DMK can check the emergence of a support base for Narendra Modi in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the DMK continues to be the voice of social justice,” said Manushyaputhiran.
He said his decision to plunge into the campaign was shaped by the realisation that he needed a popular platform to articulate his views against Mr. Modi, as his writings and speeches had so far been confined to a limited circle.
When asked why he preferred the DMK to the Left parties, which are committed to secularism, he said the present stand of the Left parties was only helping Chief Minister Jayalalithaa.
On the relevance of his support to some candidates, Jayamohan said, “I strongly believe the voice of the writer has credibility”. Explaining his support for AAP nominees, he said that, as a voter, he had a sense of fulfilment only after anti-nuclear activist S.P. Udayakumar, AAP candidate for Kanyakumari constituency, and writer-commentator Gnani, AAP candidate for the Alandur Assembly constituency in a by-election, entered the electoral fray, in a country where corruption had pervaded every system.
“Every citizen agonises over the decay in politics and public life, but when it comes to voting in a general election, he has few options. If Mr. Gnani and Mr. Udayakumar polled 50,000 votes, it will be a victory of democracy,” he said.
Even though he had ideological differences with both of them, he had no reason to doubt their integrity, he added.
He agreed that in Tamil Nadu, barring writer Jayakanthan who, first as a Communist and later as a Congressman, campaigned aggressively in the elections, other writers had consciously avoided mainstream politics. But when Jayakanthan contested as an independent in the 1977 Assembly election, he could not even secure his deposit.
In the 2006 elections, three literary figures — Ravikumar (Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi), Salma (DMK) and Su. Venkatesan — entered the fray. But only Mr. Ravikumar won his seat. He is now contesting for the Lok Sabha in Tiruvallur (Reserved) constituency.
Mr. Venkatesan, a Sahitya Akademi award winner, is a Communist Party of India (Marxist) member and has been campaigning for his party since 1996.
He said that since Left parties had not made any compromise at all on their core political principles, he had never felt any conflict of interest between literature and politics.
