Stickers with the message: “We will not take money in this house to vote” were pasted at over 1,000 houses in Perundalaiyur panchayat, Gobichettipalayam union by an Erode-based NGO, Yaan Foundation, urging voters to cast their franchise sans money.
Four villages in the panchayat: Kuttipalayam, Serayampalayam, Vengamedu and Perundalaiyur, coming under the Tiruppur Parliamentary constituency, have about 2,500 voters, and the NGO is working towards creating awareness that the “vote is not a product to be sold”. Awareness messages in the form of stickers, banners, hoardings, and paintings on roads have come up across these villages in the past month, all stressing the message of not taking cash for votes.
A.S. Krishnan, coordinator of the Foundation, said that instead of directly asking people not to sell their votes, student volunteers started groundwork in January, by cleaning the graveyard and the public toilet and cleaning the banks of the Bhavani river. “Once people started trusting us, we explained to them that the students had come not just to clean the village, but to bring about a change in mindsets,” he said. Residents were made aware about the cash for votes issue through awareness rallies, rangoli competitions and the distribution of pamphlets. “We instilled confidence in them and made them believe that they can bring about a change without taking cash for their votes,” he added.
Many village residents here said they would vote for the candidate of their choice as they were part of the campaign.
Campaign coordinator A. Anushree, a final year B. Com student and a native of Nambiyur, has staying in the village from January and is vested with the task of reaching out to all of the residents. “I met each family at least three to five times, explaining to them that the change has to begin with them,” she said and added that many families even opposed the pasting of stickers on their doors. “It was really challenging to convince them. But, I met with them frequently and eventually, they supported us,” she said.
Volunteers also conducted an all-party meeting and met the contesting candidates requesting them not to distribute cash for votes.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, an elected representative said, “If people refuse to receive cash even after insistence, change begins.”
With six days left for the Lok Sabha polls on April 19, volunteers are hopeful that a change will begin in these villages.
