Chennai: This poll season, small businesses across the state are riding the political wave. Symbols, colours, and themes of prominent political parties are making their way into cakes, apparel such as printed t-shirts, and blouses, and social media content too. K S Indu Vikasini, a home baker based in Coimbatore, recently made a three-tier, 5kg cake for S P Velumani of AIADMK, who is contesting from Thondamuthur constituency. “It was my first customised cake for a political party. Velumani cut the cake during his campaign. I chose the flag colours and the symbol,” she said. After the video went live, she received several inquiries, including from cadres of other parties.The demand for printed and embroidered t-shirts has also spiked. K Subha, a tailor who has been in the embroidery space for nearly 10 years, said she received as many as 200 orders from cadres of parties. “The party logos are etched on shirts, and sometimes towels too.” R Hari, a newcomer in the garment business who specialises in custom printing on t-shirts, says his orders are mainly placed from Chennai and Salem. “Several loyalists who are not officially engaged with these political parties place individual orders for printed tees featuring the DMK or TVK logo. The printed tees cost upwards of 599, while machine embroidered variants start at 200.Some see the election as an opportunity to help their business grab some eyeballs. “We designed a TVK-themed blouse using aari work. When we posted the video online, it racked up more than 3 million views in two weeks. Earlier, we were struggling for traction on social media. Now we get at least 10 orders for our apparel every day,” says Madhumathi M, who runs a bridal boutique and tailoring unit in Velachery. She added that owing to the wedding season, she could not deliver more TVK-themed blouses, as it involves a labour-intensive process. The more the merrier remains the mantra for the parties concerned. Karthik Kuppan, zonal head of AIADMK’s Kancheepuram IT wing, said the election has created a ripple effect for businesses. “When we go campaigning, there’s cake cutting, garlanding, and bursting of crackers,” he said, adding, “People get engaged by sporting the party tees and supporting small businesses. The more people participate, the better.“Home-bakers Subanidhi and Sandhya, who made custom cakes for chief minister M K Stalin and BJP’s Vanathi Srinivasan said, “Hyper personalisation is the key to engage, retain and attract new prospects.” However, N Suman, a home-baker from Madurai, said such content could have a negative effect on customers. “If I get repeat orders from the same party, I would not post it online. My priority is to retain customers and appeal to all,” he said.
