A long queue of people was seen outside Bengaluru's Nisarga Grand Hotel on Friday. The reason? The hotel on Nrupatunga Road said it would offer voters free benne (butter) dosa, ghee rice and a beverage if they show their inked finger on the day of polling. Like Nisarga Grand Hotel, several establishments in Bengaluru have come up with similar offers in a bid to encourage people to step out of their houses and vote.
The IT hub of India has more than 1 crore registered voters for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. And, the establishments have taken this opportunity to boost voting by offering free food and beverages on the polling day, and to attract customers to their restaurants and pubs.
Deck of Brews, a resto-pub in Bellandur, is offering a free mug of beer and discounts to voters on April 27 and 28 as a reward for participating in the elections, according to the Times of India. Another chain of pubs, SOCIAL, is reportedly providing a 20 per cent discount on meals for a week after polling day to guests who return with inked fingers.
Rapido providing complimentary rides to senior citizens and physically challenged
Not only restaurants and pubs, bike-taxi aggregator Rapido has also joined the election frenzy to provide complimentary rides to physically challenged and senior citizen voters in Bengaluru. Rapido's co-founder, Pavan Guntupalli, told the Times of India that that it is important to provide equitable access to every voter to exercise their democratic right. "We are undertaking this initiative to ensure that every voter in Bengaluru, Mysuru, and Mangaluru can successfully fulfil their duty by casting their vote," he told the newspaper.
To fu͏rther support voter conve͏nience, t͏he Benga͏luru Metro Rail Corporation has extended metro services o͏n April 26. The last trains from all termin͏al stations and the Maj͏estic͏ interchange will depart later͏ than usual,͏ allowing voters more time to travel to and from poll͏ing stations.
With 14 cons͏tituencies going t͏o polls in th͏e secon͏d pha͏se of Lok Sabha elections, businesses ar͏e hopeful that their incentives will encourage͏ more people to ͏pa͏rt͏icipat͏e͏ in͏ th͏e democrati͏c process and e͏xercise th͏eir right to vote.
