‘Lotus’ garlands in demand for D-Day in Patna

PATNA: Florists and traders dealing in political materials in the city are hopeful of brisk business as supporters of different political parties have started booking bouquets and garlands for the Lok Sabha election results day on May 23.
“Supporters of different political parties have visited our shop to enquire about availability of marigold garlands and bouquets for Thursday,” said Chandan Bharti, the owner of a flower shop near Mahavir Mandir.When asked about the flowers in demand, Bharti said, “A few BJP workers demanded a garland made of 1,000 lotuses. There were others who demanded around 200 bouquets of roses for the results day.”
Other florists near Mahavir Mandir claimed that orders from different political parties will pour in on the results day. “Though enquiries have been made, but most of the orders will be made in the forenoon on the results day,” said Amit. “All vendors are expecting a surge in demand on Thursday and they are placing orders to wholesale traders across the country for bulk supply,” he added.
Besides florists, traders dealing in electioneering materials such as party caps, flags and cutouts of leaders are also receiving bulk orders. Satyendra Narayan Singh at Beer Chand Patel Path said, “I have received orders for around 30,000 satin BJP flags from the supporters of Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ram Kripal Yadav. Apart from party flags, the other items in demand are caps and cutouts of the candidates.”
A close aide of Patna Sahib BJP nominee Ravi Shankar Prasad told this newspaper that his supporters have ordered around 25kg of ladoo till Tuesday. “Prasad’s supporters are confident of his victory with a huge margin. Hence, they are preparing for the celebrations beforehand,” he said.
BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said, “Though the party is not planning anything grand beforehand, but the supporters of different BJP nominees are planning for the big day.”
Taking a dig at BJP’s early celebrations during the last assembly election results, RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said: “We don’t believe in early celebrations. The party will celebrate the victory in true spirit when the right moment arrives.”