Leaders of all hues might be trying to stitch together alliances for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. But there’s an interesting twist to who’s making money from all the stitching in Bihar.
From ordinary political workers to top-rung leaders, netas are making a beeline to the tailor to have spanking new sets of their typical starched white kurta-pyjama attire ready before they hit the rough and tumble of the campaign trail and beyond.
A dozen-odd tailors have set up makeshift shops outside the MLAs’ hostel and political party offices on Beer Chand Patel Marg to cater to the demand.
Naushad Alam, whose fortunes have reversed ever since the election schedule was announced, recently set up shop here to cash in. “With such heavy demand for kurta-pyjama, I now take barely two hours to complete stitching one set,” said Alam, who is in his mid-40s. He said people were still coming in droves with urgent orders.
“There are some of them who even threaten that I will have to stitch a new set of kurta pyjama within no time as the customer has to accompany some netaji to poll meetings or file nominations. If I do not accede to their request, they will prefer to opt for ready-made kurta-pyjama from Maruti Khadi Bhandar, the popular destination for khadi-lovers,” he explains.
Like Alam, there are several other small-time tailors near the MLAs’ Club, who are trying to cope with business during election season. Their only regret is the sharp fall in demand for Gandhi caps.