Click to play videoBatala (Punjab): With Assembly polls around the corner in Punjab, campaigning is gaining momentum and so is the search for coins.
The supporters of different parties in Punjab start collecting coins during elections to weigh their leaders and to show their loyalty, which is actually a euphemism for sycophancy.
And the race among the supporters has already created an increasing demand for coins. So the workers are making rounds to get as many coins as they can from moneylenders to beggars, from temples to gurudwaras.
“Workers who want to weigh their leaders during political rallies want coins in the denomination of rupees one therefore the demand for the coins goes up,” says moneylender, Rajinder Kumar.
An average male leader weighs around 80 kilograms though in Punjab that figures mostly on a higher side.
It takes nearly 16,000 one rupees coins to balance an average weighing leader. And supporters, who cannot afford that much, settle for coins of lesser denomination, for example 25 and 50 paisa.
“Our candidate's weight is around 85 kg. It was a tough job to collect coins during election so we approached shops, gurudawaras and temples,” says supporter Harmeet Singh.
The Election Commission of India has ensured that there is no scope for money to change hands during the elections. But then anything goes in the name of a good old tradition.
“The message basically is that my voters want to weigh me. This is the tradition of Punjab, the traditional practice of weighing political heavyweights against coins. Yes, this is illegal,” says a BJP candidate from Batala, Jagdish Raj Sahni.
And are you wondering why the mad rush for coins when the paper currency could do?
Well, of course, it would cost the supporters a fortune. And even the supporters know their money’s worth despite their solidarity with the candidates.
(With inputs from Jemima Rohekar)
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