At 6.00 pm on a weekday, the Gandhiji Khadhar Store at Town Hall is doing brisk business. With the elections just a week away, bundles of flags and piles of placards with the party symbols are arranged in front and on the floor. Photographs of political leaders share the shelf space in harmony.

The store owners, K Balamurugan and K Jayakumar, are busy talking to customers and making out bills. “Our grandfather, K Karupannan was a weaver, who sold the fabric he wove. He took it around the city on his bicycle. In 1976, our father KA Kannan opened this store. Initially, he only sold Khadi shirts and veshtis. Election merchandise was introduced later in 1986,” says Balamurugan.

The store now sells badges, photographs, boards, umbrellas, flags, cards, caps and shawls of “around 20” political parties. “At first, the space was rented and my father bought it in 1992. We joined him in 2000. The store was renovated in 2008 and four floors were added.” On the first and second floors saris and shirts are sold, the third is used as storage and the fourth houses a screen printing unit. “The last was also introduced in 2008 and prints single colour.”

Printer R Rajendran is the man in charge of the unit.“I have been screen printing for the last 40 years; therefore my name. I started my career in Tiruppur and came here 10 years ago. I have just finished 300 flags for Makkal Needhi Maiam,” says Rajendran.

They source their products from Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai and Bengaluru.“We sell party flags in polyester, cotton and satin fabric. The price ranges from ₹10 to ₹160 per piece. Though we sell products through the year for party meetings, our sales are best in the 15 days before the elections,” says Jayakumar.

According to Balamurugan, their business has been dull for the past three years. “There are many restrictions on election campaigns. Earlier, we would start stocking about six months before the election and sold around 5000 flags a day. It has now come down to less than 1000. Now we source according to order. We also have stock left from the previous years.”

Future plans? “We plan to supply our products to stores across Kerala. We hope it happens soon,” says the duo.