In Tamil Nadu, Politics Meets Idlis

Courtesy of D.I.P.R. J. Jayalalithaa, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, serving food during the inauguration of a canteen in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on Feb. 19.

NEW DELHI-Politicians in India are employing an archaic strategy â€" trying to win the hearts of voters through their stomachs.

With an eye on next year's national parliamentary elections, J. Jayalalithaa, chief minister of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, introduced a program in February aimed at the poor to provide nutritious, wholesome, cheap food.

It's proven so popular that even better-off citizens are taking advantage of the program. (There are no restrictions by income.)

“The canteens are a real boon for people of Chennai as the food here is really sumptuous and filling,” Vandana Rajan, 22, a graduate student at Madras University who occasionally uses the canteen, said in a telephone interview. “Minimum-wage workers will really benefit from the program,” she added.

So, if you're in Chennai, don't miss out on the hot, fresh, fluffy idlis now available at dirt-cheap prices of one rupee each ($ .02), thanks to the city. As of April 29, 200 canteens had sprung up across the city.

City corporation officials told India Ink on May 1 that a total of 11 million idlis, 2.4 million packets of sambar rice, priced each at 5 rupees each, and 1.5 million packets of curd rice, each priced at 3 rupees, had been sold.

The Chennai Corporation, the city's governing body, spends 1.86 rupees on each idli served in the canteen, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said, according to The Hindu, and the state government supplies subsidized rice. Each idli “incurs a loss of 86 paise,” or nearly one rupee, she said.

Several women's self-help groups are managing the canteens, preparing and serving the food.

Through populist programs like these, Ms. Jayalalithaa's party, the A.I.A.D.M.K., hopes to win a majority of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats in the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament, and ultimately a stronger voice in the next national elections. Right now the party controls nine seats.

Cooked food programs for the poor have been introduced by state governments in the past, and sometimes inaugurated with much fanfare. In June 2010, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit introduced a similar program, known as the Jan Aahar Yojana, which set up roadside stalls selling full meals at 15 rupees a plate.

“There are 41 stalls operating in the city right now and the food prepared is very good,” said Javed Khan, program manager at Mother N.G.O., a group contracted by the state government to monitor the Delhi program. “We conduct monthly team check-ups to ensure proper standards of hygiene and cleanliness,” he said.

“On an average, we sell close to 200 plates in a day,” said Vivek Shukla, a worker at one of the Jan Aahar kendras, or stalls. “You get food here for just 15 rupees and at other private eateries you might have to pay more but still you might not be satisfied.”

Amit Khare, a first-time consumer at the stall, was satisfied with the food during a visit in April, but recommended better hygiene. “They can increase the price, but they should not compromise on health and hygiene,” said Mr. Khare, pointing out the dust being kicked up from the roadside, and the lack of cleanliness of the containers used to store the food.

In 1995, the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government in Maharashtra introduced a similar program, “Zunka Bhakar,” named after a Maharashtrian delicacy made of chickpeas and onion, served with jowar, or millet bread, for just one rupee.

The government promised to give licenses to unemployed youths across the city to run these stalls. Although it was a hit with the poorer classes, the program was disbanded after some alleged that many of the licensees of the stalls were workers of the governing party.