EC hawk-eye forces parties to change ‘gifts’

Strict enforcement against voter bribing and the short time between announcement of election and polling have led to parties in Tamil Nadu shopping for cellphone covers and night lamps over traditional “gifts” of ‘kudam’ (pot), T-shirts and saris. The notification for the April 6 election was issued on February 26.

Sales of cellphone covers and cases and night lamps with imprints of logos of almost all party symbols, including those of national outfits, have grown by more than 30%, says Karthic Gurnani, founder of e-commerce dropshipping platform Baapstore. On the other hand, Chennai-based JK Stainless, a wholesaler, has seen orders for ‘kudams’ and cookers down by 30% with the Election Commission trying to keep a hawk eye over political parties.

It is common practice for candidates touring their constituencies to distribute ‘gifts’ to keep field workers in good humour and butter up voters. The gifts, when not accounted for, go into EC logs as ‘bribes’.

“The runway time from announcement to polling is short. Some parties have picked up T-shirts, but overall, sales have plummeted. Besides, the costs have risen too. A simple T-shirt used to cost around Rs 70. It’s now 110,” said Tirupur Exporters Association chief Raja Shammugam.

DMK worker Constantine Ravindran says spending on merchandise has significantly reduced. But there’s still good demand for printed phone covers and cases, bluetooth headsets, and night lamps.Tirupurbased Bhaskar V, proprietor of Vijay Sports that sells custommade T-shirts, caps and towels to parties, said two parties had placed orders for Rs 7 lakh worth of T-shirts, which is half the previous election’s sales.

Vedha V, a 61-year-old Chennai resident, said people in her neighbourhood had in the 2019 LS polls received cookers, saris and veshtis. “There’s hardly anyone at our doorstep this year. Looks like the EC’s strict vigilance is as big a scare as the coronavirus itself. It seems to have scared off even the TN politicians,” she joked.