Click to play videoHyderabad: A Central Government directive that 50 per cent of beedi packs be covered with statutory health warning has heated up the by-polls in Karimnagar.
The fear is that this may reduce space for the brand logo and spell the death knell for the industry which employs nearly two lakh of the total 15 lakh voters in the constituency.
"This is what we survive on. How will I feed my kids? The Government has to reduce the warning sign or I'll commit suicide,” says a beedi Worker, Ramalakshmi.
Such dire warnings by women who constitute more than half the beedi work force has deflected attention from the statehood issue, the main election plank of TRS leader K Chandrashekhara Rao, who is seeking re-election.
Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy is now promising to intervene on behalf of the beedi workers.
"It has to be properly regulated and ultimately we have to build some balances and generate awareness. It has to be a continuous process," says Reddy.
But beedi workers are not impressed and some say they will boycott the polls.
"Our entire beedi community will boycott the elections. These politicians don't do anything for us. We'll not vote if something is not done for us," says another beedi worker, Jyothi Samarao.
With beedi workers fuming at the prospect of loss of business, all eyes are on the December 4 by-polls when it will be known finally how much political damage or loss a statutory health warning can cause.
(With inputs from Nandini Sircar)
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