What is new in Chennai?

The election fever has turned fiendish with the Star world campaigning out there for the DMK and AIADMK. Summers of Chennai have only brought more of the stars in the streets to campaign for their parties. There is defection happening everyday and a handful joining the ruling party on a daily basis. Jayalalitha and her comrades walking around their constituencies and meeting people for the first time in 5 years since the last election. Parties announcing attractive schemes like free color television sets, cable connection and free rice to lure the economically backward community. When the basic needs like food, shelter, education, security, water are not met and parties want to give away free television sets and cable connection. Guys let us get to reality of needs and wants. The needs of the city folks are very different from that in the rural areas.

Tamilnadu has witnessed numerous outfits by Cine stars and other celebrities prior to elections and they disappear like a shooting star after the elections. It is Lok Paritran this time around (www.lokparitran.org) . Let us see if this student outfit will stand the test of times. Lok Paritran, a politcal outfit started by IITians promises a corruption free government.

The leadership of the political outfit outlined the key aspects of their first-ever election manifesto: cleaning up the `implementation pipeline' to ensure trickledown of benefits; rewarding merit, ability and skill; introducing technology and training employees in government departments. It is nice to know that educated men and women are taking to politics but to reach out to the mass and attend to their needs the occupation demands much more than education and brains. As a new outfit LP raises money through their website and marketing their party to NRI’s. I don’t know what this party has to offer other than the standard corruption free slogan.

1. Whom does this party represent? What do they represent?
2. What does it have to offer to the common man in the city and in villages?
3. How are positioning themselves? What demographics are they going behind?
4. How would they want to differentiate their party from the rest? There seems to be no differentiation strategy at the moment other than being an IITian.
5. Their website lacks clarity and their objectives and philosophy is far from the common man’s understanding.
6. The marketing campaign is very poor. They need to manage media more effectively and decide on a demographic and go behind them.
7. They seem to have forgotten that celebrity endorsements have always paid well when it comes to Politics and Tamilnadu.
8. Tell me why I should vote for you other than you forming a corruption free government?

Apart from funds, LP needs a good marketing brain to carry them forward and to the doorsteps of every home in the city and the village. It is encouraging to know that educated people want to serve the masses, but let us do it the right way and reap maximum benefits.

The election battle is fierce as always. Pre- poll analysis predicts a marginal majority for the ruling government. Well something can be new in Chennai and Tamilnadu, but not when it comes to disappointments. Many promises were made the last time around and are yet to be fulfilled and many more are thrown liberally back at the people by campaigners and parties and as always the net result have ever disappointment.

Disappointment = Expectations – reality.

We don’t need any special education to be aware of what is happening around us. Our duty as citizens doesn’t merely end at polling booths. It should rather start there and continue till the end of term. Let us exercise our franchise prudently and question our representatives without fail and help them serve us better.