On the campaign trail in Tamil Nadu, rhetoric is being whetted to a cutting edge, as always happens when the trail gets around the home stretch. Partisan flag-waving is taking on greater vigour. And parties are wooing citizens with the end-phase desperation of a hopeful suitor.
Amidst all of this intense activity, this 400-metre stretch of an arterial road in the outskirts of Chennai (technically in the Tambaram assembly constituency) presents a silent, but colourful reminder of the first principles underpinning India’s system of governance, where citizens have a say, at least before a government is securely ensconced in the seat of power, vis-a-vis their vote.