With meat, parties up throw a bone of contention
Not biryani, but raw chicken and meat were the ¡avours on polling eve here on Sunday. Some candidates were seen trying to attract voters with meat and chicken on Sunday in Visakhapatnam as part of their campaign a day before the election, though the model code of conduct and the silence period of campaign were in force.
Some of the MLA candidates in the district are said to have supplied fresh chicken and mutton to the voters, creating a high demand for meat and poultry
on Sunday. According to the sources, this practice of distributing meat to the voters began with the 2019 election in Andhra Pradesh when the candidates adopted the culture from Telangana.
“It is the best way to satisfy
the whole family and not just one or two members. Also, it is less expensive than spending on biryani packets and liquor,” said a party representative in the Bheemili Assembly.
“On Sunday morning, someone dropped a black packet containing raw chicken. We were told it was sponsored by a contestant,” said a resident of Anandapuram. The man who distributed the chicken, said nothing about any candidate or party,” the resident said.
“We did the same in the last 2019 election. It is a popular practice in Nizamabad, Karimnagar, and Medak areas in Telangana,” said the distributor.
The vendors are also seen making some extra money during election period with this practice being adopted by the candidates. “Yes, we got a bulk order, which is three times the average Sunday sales,” said a poultry seller.
According to o¤cials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, there are 1,242 authorised chicken shops and 700 meat shops in the Visakhapatnam Lok Sabha constituency. About 600 unauthorised small shops are also estimated to be running in the area. On average, 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh kg of dressed chicken is sold here on Sundays. “But on this Sunday, we saw the sale of more than 3 lakh kg of dressed chicken at ₹285 per kg,” said a member of the Poultry Chicken Vendors Welfare Association.