With the political parties looking to reinvent their images and wanting to present a younger cadre base to the voting public, very few of those on the campaign trail can be seen in dhotis and at this campaign season the cadres are dressed in jeans and T-shirts wearing coolers to beat the heat.
A seasoned politician has told that people are tired of seeing people in the traditional kara vesthi (dhoti with party colors) and they want a change. It is better to mingle among the voters in casual clothes. He has also added that women get more batta during campaigning since it is better to present a younger group of cadres to the voters.
Anbu Chezhiyan a professional who is in a party has stated that a quality dhoti costs Rs. 1,300 to Rs. 1,400 and then dry cleaning and starching costs Rs. 100 at least but Jeans and trousers are cheaper and it last longer and very easy to maintain.
P. Muthukrishnan the owner of Saraswathi Handloom Textiles in Sellur, elections used to be the season to make up for losses. However this year many textile showrooms in Madurai are renowned for selling party dhotis and mufflers had claimed that the election season sale has gone south. One manufacturer has innovated to include neatly laminated pocket-sized pictures of party leaders along with the dhoti. Politicians of Tamil Nadu prefer to keep these photos in their transparent white shirts.
