Kerala: Shop here for poll goodies

Thiruvananthapuram: Barring the final day of the election campaign, the only places in the city where workers of all political parties assemble together for a common purpose is SS Kovil Road, the printing hub of Thiruvananthapuram. A shop, Screen Point, which sells election-related paraphernalia attracts party cadres from constituencies between Parassla and Varkala.

Election special goods in the store include umbrellas, t-shirts, bags, head shades, hats, jackets and magnetic badges with the party colour and logo. The store that was established two years ago has recently started to function round the year to meet the requirements of political rallies in the capital.

An umbrella with engravings of any party symbol may cost Rs 240 whereas a hand fan is Rs 15. Flags cost between Rs 25 and Rs 150 depending on the size of the spread.

Shawls with the party colour cost between Rs 50 and Rs 70 based on the quality whereas a key-chain comes for Rs 15. The demand for masks of popular leaders has become intense since local body elections, said owner Sulaiman M.

“In the coming days we will start stocking masks of leaders like Narendra Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and VS Achuthanandan. Most of our products come from Surat and fabric items come from Tirupur. During assembly elections, we do not expect the same business like in local body polls as those campaigns are localised high density ones. Moreover, cadres already have election paraphernalia they had bought during local body polls,” he added.