Namakkal: First the bird flu. Then recession. Poultry farmers in the egg land of India - Namakkal, have been literally walking on egg shells. But now with election campaigning on in Tamil Nadu, there's a spin off.
It seems that egg biriyani is the secret behind the energy of party workers - their power lunch at election time.
And the egg-onomics of this staple election season dish has put a smile on the faces of poultry farmers! They are now happy that the price of an egg has soared to more than two rupees.
"Before elections, we were selling eggs at one rupee eighty paise. Now it is between two rupees twenty five and two rupees fifty paise," said Syed Hassan, a Poultry Farmer.
It suits even political parties that supply biriyani to their cadre.
"Giving egg biriyani to our party workers is cheaper than mutton and chicken," put forth Venkatachalam, Campaign Manager, PMK.
But supplying biriyani to voters will amount to a poll code violation.
For the 1000 odd poultry farmers in Namakkal, who've been hit hard by the bird flu and the recession, elections mean business!