At 5pm on Monday, all political parties turned off their loudspeakers and retired to their party offices as the deadline for campaign ended. However, politicians and their enthusiastic workers are in no mood to call it quits. They've devised last-minute campaign plans to beat the deadline and reach out to voters.
Sources in Navi Mumbai claimed that a senior leader has planned late-night meetings in different time slots for different communities like Sindhis, Gujaratis and Marwadis on Monday. In the western suburbs, a few candidates have formed special teams that will visit house to house and 'ensure' that voters exercised their right to franchise in their favour.
While slum residents expect small amounts, in housing societies, the bigger the tower, the higher is the demand. Chairmen and secretaries of most housing societies are benefited during elections. Candidates in the fray believe that society committee members create the right environment for them and that's why they are rewarded suitably.
"Residents of big societies have started expecting more money than slum people. Apart from cash rewards, candidates have to arrange morning snacks per the taste of the societies. If the majority of the society members are Gujaratis, candidates arrange morning breakfast like jalebi/ganthia with tea/coffee. For other societies, they keep idli, upma and poha on the election day," said a party worker. The arrangements for the breakfast is to ensure that women voters don't work in the kitchen and come out to vote.
Another party activist said, "We identify the close ones of the communities and famous faces in our areas. They promise us to help in return for cash rewards or other favours. These people are called earlier during the campaigns, fed well and given booze. Even professionals like medical practitioners have become smarter. Almost all the political parties must have organised parties for them turn by turn. People have made quick money in the last few days and in these last 36 hours, people make most of it."
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