Mysuru: During 1950s and 60s, the steps of Town Hall was the only major campaigning place for the politicians. Candidates belonging to different political parties used to share the same dais and take turns to address the people.
Now, various political parties spend lakhs only to set up a stage and get people for their rally, but in those days, most of the candidates from various political parties used to sit on the same platform and address the people. Such was the courtesy and warmth that if a candidate requested his opponents to make way for his speech, they used to accept it. They spoke about what they are going to do for the people, instead of just attacking their opponents, said a resident of the city who has been witness to such debates.
Historian P V Nanjaraja Urs said, “Town Hall was the only public space. Political leaders used to stand on the steps and address the gathering. There used to be just two big speakers on either side of the Town Hall steps for their speech. There used to be nearly 200 people to listen to various candidates’ speech. The candidates used to speak for ten to fifteen minutes and make way for others, which is difficult to imagine in present day politics. Those days the politicians had friendly fights and there was hardly any enmity, but now one can come across secret deals among political parties. Apart from this, there were hardly three to four parties, including Congress, Samajwadi Party, Communist Party and Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party.”
Even Jawaharlal Nehru had delivered a public speech at this Town Hall, while Vallabhai Patel had a public speech at Gandhi Square, he added.
D S Jagadish, an 87-year-old freedom fighter, said: “Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee delivered a public speech at the Town Hall. This was the most sought after and preferred place for most of the political leaders. Those days politicians were more decent and they never used singular words against anybody, which is not the same now. The present-day politics can’t be compared to those days. It was nice to see all the politicians sharing same dais. In those days hardly any money was spent on public speeches, but today the politicians spend lakhs of rupees just to impress their leaders and voters.”
