Local government elections to village and town panchayats, municipalities and corporations will take place in Tamil Nadu in the middle of October. Elections will be held in 6 corporations, 102 municipalities, 609 town panchayats, and 12,609 village panchayats. The local government elections provide an opportunity for people’s organizations to advance demands for certain immediate measures as well as far reaching changes in the electoral and political process to bring people to the centrestage of governance.

Already people from many villages in the state have expressed their deep disgust with existing conditions and threatened to boycott the polls. In many other areas, the people have come out strongly against the candidates of the big political parties and have put up their own candidates whose loyalty will be for the constituency which elected them and not to a particular political party. Many demands have also been made to curb money and muscle power and reject candidates who buy votes by offering gifts and alcohol.

A significant initiative is being taken by a joint front led by Lok Raj Sangathan, Unorganised Workers Federation and NAPM along with about 51 organisations of workers and peasants. These organizations have fielded candidates for local bodies at various levels in many districts of the state such as Tuticorin, Kanyakumari, Erode, Madurai, Karur and Chennai. The candidates were selected by the people through mass contact meetings and seconded by their respective unions and sanghams. A joint manifesto (See Box) has been brought out for the local body elections. The joint front has been consistently fighting for fundamental electoral reforms as well as various demands of its constituents. Earlier in November 2005, the front conducted a state-wide Yatra to highlight the concerns of the people and put forward demands for electoral reforms. This was followed by a seminar in Chennai, mass contact programmes during the state assembly elections in February 2006, membership drive in various regions, and dharnas, rallies and petition campaigns. The joint front has launched a campaign throughout Tamil Nadu around immediate demands of the working people as well as far reaching reforms in the present electoral and political process.

People’s Voice supports such initiatives, which have the potential to take the movement forward for the renewal of India and the establishment of the rule of workers and peasants, wholeheartedly and wishes them all success.