Shun polls, ultra-Left outfits campaign in West TN

Even as the Election Commission is trying hard to ensure 100 per cent polling, ultra-Left outfits are engaged in a serious drive, asking people to shun the polls in villages of Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.
"Solution through election is a mirage, rally around us for people's true democratic revolution," say wall posters with deep red coloured letters against a milk white background.
These have been put up by separate ultra-Left outfits working in specific areas like agriculture and labour welfare.
The outfits include Vivasayigal Viduthalai Munnani (Farmers' Liberation Front) and Puthiya Jananayaga Thozhilalar Munnani (New Democratic Labourers Front). They are part of a larger group of separate organisations drawing inspiration from the political philosophies of Lenin and Mao Zedong.

A poster put up by the labour front hails the recent violent protests against Provident Fund withdrawal norms in Bengaluru and asks the working classes to "learn lessons" from it. Commemorating May Day, the outfit placed and garlanded a portrait of Communist leader Lenin in Pennagarm town's main bus terminus and vowed to wipe out the tears of labourers.
The content of such publicity material is highly critical of the ruling regimes both at the Centre and at the State. The posters list out livelihood issues faced by people and menace of corruption and tell them that elections which is hailed as a predominant feature of democracy is not truly so.

It asks them to rally around to put in place a true democracy. The wall posters could be seen in little towns and villages in Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri Districts.

When asked, P Gopinath, Area-Secretary of Farmers Liberation Front at nearby Pennagaram said, "What you call as the institution of democracy has now fully turned against the common people and hence it has lost its locus standi to govern through arrangements like elections."
"This system of election is out and out designed to loot and oppress the people," he told PTI adding "elections are suicidal."
Asked what constituted democracy according to his outfit, he said real power should be with the people. For example they should have power to recall an MLA if he does not perform.

He said his organisation was working towards true empowerment of farmers and other sections of the people.
Citing the GAIL pipeline project, he sought to know if farmers' interests was not public interest.?
He said efforts to lay pipelines even by "compromising" the interests of farmers who feed the people "cannot be true democracy.