This general elections, Tamil Nadu civil rights activists, anti-corruption campaigners, NGO workers and professionals from different walks of life have come together to form a political party – Puthiya Sakhti Front – to bring about a change in the way politics is done in the state.

This wannabe –AAP – a congregation of Social Activists, People Movements & Youth Organisations – has lofty ideals and idealism with which it is approaching assembly elections, where it hopes to educate the masses of the need for good governance, honesty and integrity in public life.

“Winning is not the only thing,” said one of its coordinators, Santhil Armugam, a 32-year old software engineer, who had become a full-fledged activist a few years ago. He knows how difficult it is to enter into a specialized field of politicians and that too without any big name or celebrity to pull in the masses.

“We have people who have been working at the grassroots in the development sector, activists who have been exposing corruption and civil society members who have been fighting the use of money power in elections among our members. We all want to make a difference and change the way elections are fought and the way politics is played in the state,” Armugam said.
The party was launched on Tuesday at a simple function in Chennai.

For the present there are 51 organisations, which have come together to form a federation to work among people during the elections.

At present, party leadership is holding interviews with candiates who want to fight the elections. “We want to give 50 per cent reservation to women candidates, but the problem is there are not that many candidates who have come forward. So we will have to field male candidates instead in their place,” Armugam said.

Basically, we would like to highlight the real issues of the people that no political party raises in the elections. “It is a very long battle, but we are confident that in the end, things will change for the better,” he said.

The slogan with which the new front will go into elections is “scam free governance, bribe free administration and liquor free Tamil Nadu” said D Jagadeeswaran of Lok Satta Party, which is also a part of the new front.

“We want to infuse a new culture in politics, which has of late become an industry,” the Lok Satta Party leader said.

The new front is getting traction from the youth, which is disillusioned with the two Dravidian parties and other established political parties, said another youth leader, who works with a reputed IT company.

Many members of the new front, those belonging to the IT sector, are weekend politicians – spending the Saturday and Sundays to hold meetings and visit people’s homes to canvass support for the new political culture.

“The response is encouraging, as people are fed up of the political parties. Especially when one saw during Chennai floods when political parties were missing, it was the common man and the youth who came out and stood with the suffering. It is they who saved Chennai when it was siking,” said the IT company employee.