Elections often serve as a platform for voters to express their frustration by staying away from polling stations, as witnessed in parts of Pudukottai district and three villages in Nanguneri, Tirunelveli district on Thursday.
Vengaivayal Boycott Over Water Contamination
In Vengaivayal village, 61 scheduled caste (SC) residents boycotted the election, while neighbouring Eraiyur villagers withdrew their earlier call for boycott. The protest stems from a 2022 incident where human faeces were found mixed in an overhead tank supplying drinking water to the SC hamlet. Vengaivayal residents accused non-dalit residents of Eraiyur of contaminating the water source, but the latter denied the allegations and levelled counter-charges.
In the run-up to the poll, Eraiyur residents had announced a boycott listing several demands. Vengaivayal residents demanded that cases filed against them be withdrawn, as they were victims in the contamination incident. Sources said the area has about 549 votes, of which 69 are from the SC hamlet. Only eight people voted on Thursday.
Separate Boycotts in Pudukottai and Tirunelveli
In a separate incident, residents of R Balakurichi village in Pudukottai district boycotted the election demanding a change in their assembly constituency. In Nanguneri, nearly 900 voters from Indra Colony, Perumbathu, and Ilayaneri villages boycotted the election, protesting the government's failure to provide security after a double murder on March 2, when armed goons killed a local man and an Odisha guest worker. Villagers continuously protested demanding justice for the family of the deceased John. Though officials provided assurances, people say the government failed to deliver promised protection.
A resident of Perumbathu told TOI that for the past 15 days they held protests demanding a crime-free village. 'Even after that double murder incident, the chief minister and district collector didn't visit our village. Why should they do this?' she added. Knowing that people weren't voting, district collector R Sukumar spoke to the panchayat president and requested them to cast votes, but villagers did not respond.
