‘Kodi Kada’ is in non-stop election mode

As the election frenzy soars, the Kodi Kada in Kollam has become a beehive of activity, supplying candidates and parties material that add colour to their campaign. Since 1984, the shop is the primary source of campaign supplies for political parties across Kollam and neighbouring districts. “We started off as a centre for printing material in the ‘80s, but over the years, our focus shifted entirely to election paraphernalia, leading people to rename our shop ‘Kodi Kada’ (Flag Shop),” explains owner Muhammed Sulfikkar. The inventory ranges from flags, banners, and party symbols to T-shirts and voting machine dummies.

The modest shop in the heart of the city is also called ‘Election Store’ as it offers the complete range of campaign material. In addition to the standard fare, the shop provides a volley of customised goods including decorations, printed balloons, leader face-masks, shawls, key chains and reception garlands. Though most candidates now focus on digital campaigning, it hasn’t made much of a dent in the demand for Kodi Kada items.

Switch from plastic

“Online campaigning is very common theses days, but flags and banners are still an integral part of the campaign. Of late LED symbols have a lot of takers and the latest trend is dhotis with party symbols on their border,” says Mr. Sulfikkar who adds that even parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which mainly rely on material from the party centre, place special orders with the shop. After four decades in business, Mr. Sulfikkar notes that the most significant change has been the switch away from plastic. “We mainly use cloth and strictly follow the green protocol. Having completely excluded plastic campaign material, we even colour Kuruthola (palm frond) according to the requirement of various parties,” he explains. Although Kodi Kada does brisk business during all elections, it peaks during local body polls.

“Local body elections will have a lot of candidates, unlike Lok Sabha or Assembly polls. Each ward needs a massive number of items, so we do our maximum sales during this period. The crowd is expected to increase further as the campaign enters its final stage,” he says.