During last mile, campaigners target morning walkers at parks, beaches

Chennai

Morning walkers and joggers at Haddows Road Park, in Nungambakkam had some surprise visitors recently. Dressed in whites with flags in hands, they hadn’t come there for a brisk jog. They were there to campaign at the crack of dawn – their sights set on the early birds. With elections four days away, candidates are milking the last mile of the campaigns for all its worth. They start their day early at 6 am heading to Corporation parks to pitch their agenda to morning walkers and then to the beaches. 

These informal meets require no microphones or elaborate preparations, as these candidates walk the talk with the voters. “AIADMK’s B Valarmathi and MDMK’s C Ambikapathy, both contesting from Thousand Lights constituency, visited Haddows Road Park recently. They walked with us and we told them about the issues we face. It was a very informal conversation and we got to spend some quality time with the leaders,” says Amrit Agarwal, founder of Veg Council of Nungambakkam, an organisation takes care of the park, along with Corporation of Chennai. 

Popular public spaces like Anna Nagar Tower Park, Nageswara Rao (Mylapore), Natesan Park (T Nagar), May Day Park (Chintadripet) have also seen the turnout of candidates. R Mahesh, a resident of Chintadripet has been frequenting the park in his locality for many years. “We have had representatives from three different parties campaign in the park during the morning. They interacted with the residents, asked us our problems and promised better governance,” says Mahesh. He adds, “Some of us asked them to visit us more often than only during elections. They promised that they will but only time will tell.” 

CM aspirant Anbumani Ramadoss was among the first ones to make many such trips to the parks in the city where he spends time interacting with the local populace. But it’s not just the big names, these venues are drawing a range of independent candidates as well. 

Anti-nuclear activist SP Udaykumar contesting from Radhapuram constituency says, “We do not have big budgets to fall back on for campaigning. I start my day early and target public places likes parks and beaches, interact with people and understand what their needs are.”

Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!

Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!

Click here for iOS

Click here for Android