Politicians in India Take the Stomach Route to Win Potential Voters' Hearts

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, so goes an old saying. And some Indian politicians are following the old adage literally to woo as many people as they can, especially in poll-bound states.

As poll fever grips these states, top politicians hitting the campaign trail are climbing down from their SUVs to take tea or meal breaks with local people in typical bourgeois style. 

Rahul Gandhi, the scion of the Gandhi family in India and a Congress parliamentarian, led the way on the gastronomical route as he relished a mushroom and rice meal with villagers in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. He represents the Wayanad constituency in the neighbouring state of Kerala.

A video, uploaded by the Village Cooking Channel on YouTube in January, shows Rahul enthusiastically describing the ingredients in the Tamil language and trying his culinary skills in making a "raitha", an onion and curd dish that is savoured with rice across the country. 

The video has since gone viral, with 18 million views so far.

Rahul also endorsed tea from a vendor in Tamil Nadu, as he sipped and called it "the best tea" in the state. 

On Tuesday, Rahul's politician sister and key Congress leader in her own right, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is touring the northeastern state of Assam for her election campaign, donned the headgear of a tea garden worker. She chose to lend a helping hand with workers in the famous tea gardens of Assam. 

​Some politicians from the federally ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too have taken the same style to grab attention in the poll-bound states.

Two days ago Indian Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah made a stop at a roadside hotel in Tamil Nadu for a meal after a "hectic day" of campaigning. 

​BJP President J.P. Nadda, who was on a visit to Varanasi in the state of Uttar Pradesh, satiated his need for refreshments at a small roadside eatery, munching on snacks and tea with local people.

​Top politicians embracing such methods to influence local people and get close to them is triggering mixed public responses. Some find it amusing, while others dismiss it as funny or distasteful. 

J.P. Balamurugan, a former bureaucrat in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu told Sputnik, "I find it hilarious. These are super rich and powerful men. For them it is a novelty to sit in a non-luxurious place and have a meal like a common man. It's a political gimmick and most people see through it".

Purba Kalita, a journalist-turned-entrepreneur from Silchar in Assam said: "It is quite in bad taste. There are far more important issues awaiting attention that these top politicians need to address. Instead, they are making a mockery of campaigning".

Netizens too have reacted to the snack-munching and tea-sipping politicians in different ways: