Kottayam: In tippler's paradise, election season keeps its people in unusually high spirits, not just because they enjoy their politics but also because liquor is flowing freely.
Yoye George is on an election high these days. "I enjoy election because there is liquor everywhere," he said.
Supporters from both sides of the political divide gather outside a roadside toddy parlour at Pala, central Kerala; some already high, others waiting to get there. They may be political rivals, but here at the end of the day, alcohol is the great unifier.
"See in this liquor shop, there are people of both parties sitting there and discussing things. Drunks will be drunks and all will head here," one of them said.
But do political parties pay for this party? No one admits it on camera, but there is a 300 per cent jump in sales during election season.
"In Kerala, we don't take a free drink and vote for a party. We vote for whoever we have political allegiance. We are believers of Marxist ideology. So that cannot happen here," a local said.
Keralites consume more alcohol than anyone else in the country. The sales last year crossed a record Rs 4,000 crore.
The joke around Kottayam is that after sunset, the only two men who are sober in town are the statues of Mahatma Gandhi and P T Chacko.