Biriyani, big cash lure maids to poll rallies

Homemaker Seethalakshmi Jayram noticed that in the past few days, her maid had been taking off from work frequently. “When asked, she said it was to attend the political rallies, as she would get biriyani packets and money. In one political rally, the party men gave some hair-clips for the kids. She found that endearing and started attending more rallies,” she said. “Many times, she would not even inform us in advance. That puts us in a difficult situation,” added Seethalakshmi. 

Ram Kumar, a communications professional, takes a lenient view. “My housemaid is a widow with two children, who are unemployed and her pension is insufficient to make a living. The parties pay anything from Rs. 150-Rs.1000 and these people have to travel in open trucks and sit at political meetings under the hot son. At times, food is provided. I feel bad for people like my maid because they are forced to participate even if they don’t want to, due to their poor economic conditions. I can handle my household chores,” he said. 

In the unorganised sector too, contractors are finding it tough as many daily wage labourers are attending these rallies to earn money. Selvaraj, a city-based contractor, said business has certainly gone down. “At least 10 per cent of the workers attend political rallies. So there has been a 5-10 per cent drop in business. For many of these workers, attending political rallies is much like a picnic where they get biriyani. The political groups often provide biriyani and also a quarter bottle of liquor. So they are quite happy to do so,” he said. 

According to C Sreenivasan, a small-time contractor and also a member of a Marxist party, a majority of people attend these rallies to lend support to the political parties they favour. 

“Many people, who attend these rallies, view the money as a recognition of their service to the political party they support. No matter if they are coolies or businessmen, the money paid is a token of appreciation and people are proud to help their favourite party during elections. Yes, work is going slow but it’s election time and it is like a festival in Tamil Nadu,” he concluded.