After all that brouhaha over jallikattu just about three months ago, which spurred parties to make a mention of the relatively niche blood sport in their manifestos, the issue seems to have ceased to be an election issue if the mood in the towns of Alanganallur and Palamedu, which are renowned for the event, is anything to go by.
The assurances made by both Chief Minister Jayalalithaa and DMK president M. Karunanidhi in the run-up to the election — that they would strive to revoke the ban on the event — are not likely to influence voters. But, it is not only the Dravidian parties. Even the BJP, the Congress and the PMK have made promises to get the ban overturned, with only the ‘Third Front’ choosing to remain silent.
The two towns bear no signs of the protests that broke out here in January when jallikattu could not be conducted for the second year running due to a ban imposed by the Supreme Court.
From threats of hunger strikes to election boycott, the protests went on vigorously for a few days. Today, the huge banner that was put up in Alanganallur at the height of the agitation, proclaiming that people would boycott the election, has disappeared. “Nobody is even talking about it now, except may be a section of youngsters. The momentum fizzled out after a few days of protest in just the same way it happened last year,” says S. Sujatha, a local.
P. Karthigai Rajan, former secretary of the jallikattu organising committee in Palamedu, has even taken to campaigning for one of the major parties. “Though jallikattu is important, other key issues also matter in elections,” he says. Some of the people now understand that the political parties have limited options in getting the Supreme Court decision overturned. “Parties know that they will gain our votes if they get the ban revoked. But the issue is complicated,” says P. Vellai Krishnan, also a resident of Alanganallur.
Importantly, voters appear to be spoilt for choice when it comes to the issue as almost every political party professes to be in favour of the sport.
“There is no point in voting with jallikattu issue in mind. Whoever comes to power, we just need to hope that they will revoke the ban,” says K. Rajkumar, a ward councilor in Palamedu.
The former Sholavandan MLA, P. Moorthy of the DMK, however, contends that it continues to be a poll issue. “It is an emotional associated with Tamil culture and the people deeply feel the need for revoking the ban.”
