As netas soar on flower power,suppliers on a high

The increase in demand can well be seen by the fact that in the last 15 days,the demand for red “desi” roses has risen at least four times than the usual demand.

“Earlier,the flowers were showered only on the day the candidate went for nominations. But this time around,the garlands and flower petals are in high demand as the candidates are focussing more on people-to-people campaign,showering petals to show their support,” said Ramlal Jaiswal,a flower supplier from Phoolwali Gali Chowk,the main market for flower supply in the city.

Jaiswal,who supplies to Lucknow,Kanpur,Sitapur,Hardoi,Rae Bareli and Sultanpur districts,has been importing almost 14 to 15 tonnes extra roses from Nagpur and Faridabad,apart from his usual demand of 5 tonnes.

“This time,since the wedding season is also coinciding with the election season,the demand is spiralling. There are candidates who demand almost a quintal full of rose petals everyday,” said Jaiswal.

Consider this: Atleast a quintal of rose petals were used for BJP candidate Lalji Tandon’s nomination procession in Lucknow. He was not only showered with petals from the roads,but supporters used water cannons to shower rose and marigold petals on him from rooftops.

Congress candidate from Amethi,Rahul Gandhi,and Rae Bareli candidate Sonia Gandhi were also showered with more than 3 quintals of rose petals.

Yogi Adityanath,BJP candidate from Gorakhpur,is said to have been showered with 3 quintals of marigold petals on his nomination day,while during meetings,at least 30 to 40 kgs of rose and marigold petals are used by supporters.

Bahujan Samaj Party’s Maharajganj candidate Ganesh Pandey is said to have used 2 quintals of rose petals on his nomination day,but in his daily meetings,he receives more garlands than flower showers from his supporters.

Shrikant Jain of Shree flower mart,a supplier from Mehrauli area in New Delhi said: “With our sales figures,we have seen that national parties like BJP and Congress may use petals on specific occasions like nomination processesions or rallies of big leaders.

“But in smaller parties like the Rashtriya Lok Dal,Janta Dal,Indian National Lok Dal or the BSP,flowers are being used for almost every meeting of the candidate.”

SAI Kirthi of Shiva Blooms Bangalore,who has been supplying rose petals to northern states,confirmed that the demand is definitely high “and this time around,we are getting orders for broken flowers,too,as it is mainly the petals which are being used.”

The roses are being sold at Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 per quintal,while the marigold is being sold at Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,300 per quintal.

On this growing trend,various party members say that the flowers are indeed adding some colours to the elections. “The supporters cannot put up posters or flags so they are showering flowers on their candidate. And the expense of this is not borne by the candidate but by his supporters,as they are the ones who are buying these flowers,” said Hero Bajpai,the media in-charge from BJP.

Virendra Madaan,Congress spokesperson said: “This is an old Indian custom and indeed with the candidates moving out more in public,the flower welcome style is also getting more popular.”