Chennai: The election on February 19 is to urban local agencies in the state, but rhetoric by candidates and campaigners dwells on macro problems such as Neet, Covid-19 and even recent lines over the hijab.
And, city residents don’t buy it.
They want their council candidates to express their plans to ensure clean toilets, highways, stormwater waterways are technically healthy and recreational facilities in their area.
“Leaders campaigned for polls do not understand that all voters from a certain environment want to know is what leaders will do to improve their lives,” said Lokabiraman, a resident of scrambles.
At Ward 102, the campaign is a threat as a candidate asking for residents to choose or forget the development of wards.
Sandhya V from Anna Nagar said, for more than 10 years, they had approached MLAS those who were looking for compensation for their problems.
“When the local agency poll was announced, we began hoping that board members would help us complete something in the environment.
But it seems that no one understands their role.
They only see this position as a step in their political chart, and this attitude will not benefit us , Voters, in any way, “he said.
Even in the most populous areas like K Nagar, candidates for large parties looking for sound by distributing pamphlets, who don’t even have manifesto.
Some harp in their previous term as a board member in 2011-2015.
R Umapati, a resident of Jamalia, said their ward did not have a library and community hall, although there were several empty OSR soils that could be easily developed into a recreation center.
“The candidates in our ward do not talk about the needs of the environment or plan to overcome them,” he said.
According to activists, rhetoric in party ideology overtakes local issues in civilian polls when the parties and candidates see polls as a platform to prove their supremacy and voting.
“That’s why, instead of choosing a non-party candidate, people only see the ruling party candidates or from other larger parties because they think such candidates will help them reach MLA easier” said V Sanhanam, a person Civil activists, an activist from Chromepet in Tambaram Corporation.
There are also some who understand what voters need and take proactive steps in reaching for them.
One of these candidates is M Dilli Babu from Aiadmk in Ward 186, who is conducting a survey between the population.
This survey contains questions about problems in the environment.
Local agency polls are about local problems and I cling to it, “said Dilli Babu.
Likewise in Ward 143, DMK Kandidat Rajan met with members of the Association and told them about his plans to get more parks in the neighborhood and also a compound wall which was built between apartments and cemetery, said the Mogappair Resident V Umanath.