Delhi elections: Topis a marker of strength in these polls

NEW DELHI: The day to seal parties’ fates is here, but matters ‘came to a head’ in this assembly election long ago. For weeks now, the campaigns have been a show of topis. Aam Aadmi Party was the first to make the simple white cap—variously called Gandhi topi, Nehru topi, kisan topi, Congress topi, and more memorably, Anna topi—its identity. But eventually, every party in the fray had to dye the topi in its colours and use it as an identifier in shows of strength. Delhi’s love affair with the topi started during Anna Hazare’s 2011 satyagraha. Thousands of these caps with the words "I am Anna" or "Main Anna Hoon" were sold. But the simple cap, perhaps, would not have become a glamourous political symbol in Delhi without AAP adopting it.

At Old Delhi’s Sadar Bazar, the biggest market for election campaign material, traders say topis of all party colours have been the bestsellers this time. Sales of other material, they say, have been depressed because of the Election Commission’s ban on the use of flags and apparel—saris , Tshirts etc—bearing party insignia during campaigning. Also, with the EC strictly monitoring poll expenditure, topis that cost Rs 2-10 apiece are an economical way to increase party visibility.

While AAP has stuck to the original white colour of the Jan Lokpal campaign, Congress, BJP, BSP and SP have gone for tricolour, saffron, blue and red topis, respectively.

The topi sare the silver lining for the market’s traders in an otherwise lacklustre poll season. Harpreet Singh, a shop owner, said, "In my 20 years in this business, I haven’t ever seen such week sales". Manish Gupta, who has the oldest shop of poll material in Sadar Bazar, said, "Our sales are 70-80 % of last time’s". Another said, "We are packing up the entire material for the next elections".