Maharashtra polls: Mumbai dabbawalas announce support for Shiv Sena

MUMBAI: Think Mumbai and the images of dabbawallahs, stockbrokers, big buildings, the domestic help, black and yellow taxis are the first to crop up in the head. A look at the political preferences of the people involved in these professions symbolic of the city, reveals a story of long association based on mutual trust and this time more than anything else, an opportunity to explore more options than ever before.

The city's 5,000 dabbawalas have announced their support for the Shiv Sena and the party has been using them in their campaigning. "Notes were stuck inside tiffin boxes reminding them that Mumbai should be with Maharashtrians and that only the Sena will help us in need," said Gopal Bhau, a dabbawala in Dadar.

In return, the Sena has incorporated Mumbai's dabbawalas in their Vision Mumbai campaign and announced that if it came to power in the state, it will form a company of dabbawalas in the city. The Sena also assured them of a Dabbawala Bhavan and an aid of Rs 5 crore.

The dabbawalas' efficient system of delivering home-cooked meals to more than two lakh office-goers on time every day has drawn praise from across the world.