Maharashtra polls: Restaurants, multiplexes, retailers to offer discounts for voters in Mumbai

Mumbai, Voters will get up to 20 per cent discounts in select shops, restaurants and multiplexes in Mumbai after showing the inked finger, Election Commission officials announced here on Friday. Assembly elections will be held in Maharashtra on November 20. The initiative, aimed at encouraging voting, was being undertaken after holding discussions with associations of traders, multiplex owners and restaurant owners, said an official. The poll body on Friday launched `Utsav Nivadnukicha, Abhiman Maharashtracha’, , a voting awareness campaign which aims to increase voter turnout. The event at the Gateway of India was attended by officials of the Election Commission, Mumbai Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation besides celebrities including actor Varsha Usgaonkar, Mohan Joshi, Rohit Shetty and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane. India Post also released a special cancellation at the function which will be in operation till November 20. Farogh Mukadam, nodal election officer for Mumbai, said the discount initiative was the brainchild of Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani, the district election officer for Mumbai city and the Mumbai suburban district. Gagrani conducted a meeting with representatives of the Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association, Multiplexes Association of India, Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association, Association of Hotel and Restaurants, and some other trade bodies on October 31. They agreed to offer discounts to voters to encourage voting, she said. “They often give discounts on other occasions, so we asked if they could offer similar discounts for voting. Their response was positive,” Mukadam said. Multiplex chains PVR Inox, Cinepolis, Mirage, Sterling, Mukta, MovieMax and Movie Time have agreed to offer 20 per cent discount to voters from November 20 to 22 in the city. AHAR has offered 10 to 20 percent discounts to voters on food on November 20 and 21 on showing the inked finger, Mukadam said. The offer is not valid for online bookings or purchases, she specified. At the function, it was also announced that the Maharashtra Retail Association and Reliance Retail outlets would offer 10 to 15 per cent discounts on November 20. During the Lok Sabha elections this year, several restaurants and retail shops in the city had offered similar discounts on their own.