From slums to stages: Inside the shadow economy of Maharashtra's local polls; how election season becomes daily extra income

MUMBAI: Blue loudspeakers blared the party slogan as flags jutted out from the side mirrors. An auto plastered with the candidate's vote-hungry smile slowed along the winding descent of Thane's Yeoor Hills earlier this week. "We can drop you to the gate," offered the driver. When we declined politely and enquired about his affiliation, he quickly added: "This isn't my rickshaw. It belongs to a friend. I'm driving it because we get 1,500 per day for the campaign. Please don't put my name in the paper, madam."Welcome to the sweet economics of election season. Across Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, the campaign period leading up to the municipal polls has triggered a parallel informal economy--one that quietly employs thousands from the city's slums, chawls and working-class neighbourhoods as temporary foot soldiers of democracy. Surekha Bhoir, a domestic help from Bhandup, said many women like her sign up to wear party scarves over their sarees and join campaign trails for the financial incentive. "The women come from slums and chawl pockets. We are offered money for carrying flags, shouting slogans and following the candidate," she said. "Some are maids, some cooks, some housewives."Aparna (name changed), who lives in a modest Thane neighbourhood and works as a cook in several Ghodbunder households, recently participated in a local rally. "I was paid a modest amount for my two-hour presence," she said. "Some of my colleagues and neighbours—cooks and housemaids—are participating almost daily. They can earn anywhere between 500 and 1,500 per day."The financial pull disrupts everyday routine. A Thane resident complained that several domestic workers in her building had taken leave over the past few days. "They told me the money from campaign work is simply more than what they make here," she said.A personal assistant to a senior politician, speaking on condition of anonymity, outlined the rates: "For carrying flags, maids and auto drivers get up to 1,000 per day. Women campaigners get 500 to 700. The day starts at 9 am till 2 pm, then again from 5 pm to 10 pm." Alongside them walk young men with microphones and loudspeakers, some of them students earning easy "pocket money." Others manage social media campaigns, sometimes unpaid, sometimes for a fee, amplifying the candidate's digital footprint.For some families, the election months bring genuine financial relief. In Belapur, Navi Mumbai, domestic worker Vrushali Koranne, wife of a taxi driver, says her household income has nearly doubled. "In December and January, my husband and I were hired for extra shifts at party offices and booths," she said. "I earn about 1,000 more a day, and he makes another 1,500 from extra taxi rides. It is not a bribe. It is paid work."Her husband Mukesh added that some late-night trips involved transporting supporters as part of mobilisation efforts. "Sometimes we go into nearby slums carrying gifts such as clothes or liquor," he said.Behind the banners, speeches and slogans, the election spectacle runs on this quiet economy of necessity where democracy's loudest season also becomes the working class's busiest one. In Kharghar, security guard Ram Sharan now earns almost 900 extra daily distributing pamphlets and fixing party flags for five candidates. "We are eight guards in two shifts. We can send extra money to our hometowns in UP," he said.In Goregaon, a civic officer observed the transactional nature of participation. "My domestic helpers are campaigning for all major parties," she said. "They aren't even sure who they will vote for."A similar businesslike approach was visible at a recent public rally in Shivaji Park. Several residents from Dharavi's Kumbharwada--who were paid 500 for the evening--arrived around 8.15 pm, collected food boxes, stuffed them into their bags and left by 9.15 pm. By the time the main speaker took the stage, the ground was largely filled with empty chairs. Since protocol demands that party workers stay till the very end of the rally, this quiet departure bemused a seasoned onlooker. In Airoli, a retired senior citizen now spends his mornings and evenings at a party office. His wife says he joined not from ideology, but routine. "They promised daily payment, but say it will come only after the results," she said, uncertain if it ever will.(Inputs from Richa Pinto, Manoj Badgeri, Somit Sen, Clara Lewis and Chittaranjan Tembhekar)