During the 2021 elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly, G Bharathidasan of Mayiladuthurdai in Tamil Nadu, earned ₹20,000 in 10 days. He drove his cab for the All-India Anna Dravida Kazhagam (AIADMK) Poompuhar constituency candidate S Pavunraj’s team. This time, with hardly a week to go for the elections, he hasn’t got any such offers.

No takers

At the Tiruchirappalli old bus stand, a group of cab drivers are idling, waiting for customers. Elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly this year have not brought any business to private taxis, autorickshaws and garland vendors.  While N Muralidharan, former Anna Autorickshaw Workers’ Union member, terms it as the late “TN Seshan effect”, political observers say parties are spending more on digital and online campaigning.

“I haven’t got any invitation to drive for any party this time,” says Bharathidasan. “These days, parties have cut down on expenditure on hiring cabs. Probably, they are mindful of the expenses with the Election Commission monitoring closely,” says B Murugan at the Tiruchirappalli old bus stand.

In Mayiladuthurdai, Syed Mohammed Shahjehan said the situation is similar when it comes to hiring autorickshaws. “Last elections, we all earned ₹1,750 a day helping parties to canvass for their candidates. This time, we have not got any such order,” he said. It is not limited to cabs and autorickshaws, but also extends to other businesses such as garland-makers. 

“We are not getting any big orders. Some people come and suddenly ask for a garland. We supply immediately. Otherwise, we are not witnessing any big demand,” says flower vendor S Dharmadurai at the Chhatram Bus Stand in Tiruchirappalli. A couple of vendors businessline spoke to in Thanjavur said it is business as usual. At the Grand Southern Trunk Road junction in Tiruchirapalli, M Bharathi, who repairs tyres, said he is not seeing a surge in orders.

“During previous elections, I would have people queuing up to repair tyres the whole day. I would not even find time to have lunch. Now, it’s not like that,” he said, adding that business is normal for him, providing about ₹400 a day. Murugan’s colleague, D Joseph, said one reason for the poor demand for cabs this time is that many have their own four-wheelers. “Every house has a car now,” he said. Bharathi added that vehicles are maintained well these days.

Shahjehan has an amusing tale to narrate. “In the last elections, when parties hired autorickshaws, those who were asked to campaign for the whole day would dodge. They would campaign using loudspeakers for a couple of hours. Then they would go off to drink liquor, returning in the evening to campaign for another two hours,” he said.

When these campaigners get drunk, the autorickshaw drivers would take a break and transport people before returning on time to fetch the campaigner. “It was not getting the parties their due mileage. Also, if a party hired an autorickshaw for a day, it had to pay ₹3,000,” said Shahjehan.

Extra income

However, parties are paying people to join their door-to-door campaigning or to welcome leaders. “We pay ₹100 per person for coming with us to campaign,” says V Mayisamy, an AIADMK ward president in Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur. In Chennai, parties are paying ₹2,000 for three days for such campaigning, said a resident in Triplicane. In Tiruchirapalli, some said they were paid ₹300 to stand on the roadside to welcome leaders.

Published on April 22, 2026