JUST SPAMMING | Beach resort, bouncers: Politics redefined

Among the major gripes of the media brigade at the venue of the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) anniversary celebrations in Mahabalipuram was that some of them could not gain entry and that one of them was manhandled by bouncers, necessitating a visit to hospital. Hired professional bouncers pouncing on a reporter going to cover a gala organized at a posh seaside resort by a political party is indeed not a common occurrence in the State and not an acceptable one, too. True, interlopers do try to barge into events and would be tactfully prevented entry if it was a closed door meeting meant only for select invitees.

As far as the TVK show at the private beach resort was concerned, it was meant for 2000 party office-bearers and other invitees. Though it was touted as anniversary celebrations, causing confusion in the minds of people closely watching the political developments with party communications and some media reports referring to it as ‘second’ anniversary, meaning the beginning of the second year, it was a distinctly a political event. Earlier curtain raiser reports described it as the General Council of the party. Whatever, it took place on February 26 with much gusto, noise, verve and confusion, setting a new political culture for the State.

First the choice of venue – a luxury five-star facility in Mahabs - is something new to the State that has witnessed, a million times, party workers and supporters of varied hues spending a night or even two at the Marina sands after travelling by rickety vans from far off places. Participants of meetings in the past, including the historic ones like the DMK’s first meeting at Royapuram Robinson Park, had to brave the elements of nature, going through the hustle and bustle, and never had it so comfortable in an air conditioned hall. Even if later day political meetings shifted to marriage halls and hotels with entry restricted to only authorized invitees, rarely has there been an allegation of bouncers set upon those wanting to enter the venue.

For the tribe called ‘bouncers’ has been around for a long time as a privilege of the rich and powerful. Perhaps they marked their presence first in public places by preventing drunken men from misbehaving at pubs and closed door events attended by celebrities from the entertainment industry. who ran the risk of being touched or fondled by over enthusiastic fans. In politics, before the arrival of the Black Cats and the gunmen, who throw impregnable human fortresses around the VVIP (very, very important person), it was a free for all. Political workers would hobnob with their leader freely and after the advent of the smartphone even took selfies if there was no Z+ or Z or Y category security cover for the leader.

In many northern States where politicians have their private army of bodyguards, menacing brawny men with firearms, chains and other attacking weapons could be spotted. But the bouncers, seen in pubs and celebrity dos and at the TVK event, are different. They may not be frighteningly menacing but are firm in drawing the line between the subject guarded by them and anyone else trying to get closer. So, who crossed the line in Mahabs is not known. Even if the media person, who was pushed and needed first aid, refused to comply with the diktats of the event organizers, conveyed through the bouncers, it could only be out of his enthusiasm to not miss out on the coverage aimed at exciting his channel viewers. He was not a fawning fan keen to get close to Vijay.

But what he did not know was that the rules of the game had changed. Politics is no more the same as it was once and politicians, too, do not have aspirations like cultivating the media after having entrusted the job with media coordinators and election strategists, who decide everything for them, including the ideology that they should profess. In fact at the stage of the TVK event – first anniversary or inauguration of the second anniversary or the general council, whatever it was – it was the voice of professional election strategists that boomed more than any political squeak.

Though a party honchos had claimed the TVK was founded on the principles of love, concern and selfless service, what was on display at the event was a kind of belligerence aimed at realizing crass commercial – read political – interests. There was no talk about any ideological moorings or addressing people’s needs. Perhaps it went well with the setting of the venue, frequented otherwise by the high and mighty to discuss strategies to increase profit and revenues. With most people adoring the stage having no history of real connections with common people in their vocations, it is only preposterous to expect a people oriented agenda for governance to emerge from that event.

So, as we have ushered in a culture of holding political events at antiseptic venues into which most of the common voters would not have stepped in or felt uncomfortable entering with bouncers, trained in martial arts, guarding the gates, we should not expect the pedestrian problems of common people to be discussed there. The discussions would only revolve around gaining a one-upmanship over ‘powerful families’ and replacing them, based on arm-chair analysis and not on interaction with the people. That’s the tragedy about cultivating and having on board election strategists instead of voters.