Lok Sabha polls: Market blues a niggle for BJP's Kirron Kher in Chandigarh

Shop owners in city's Sector 17 market miffed with BJP's sitting MP

Subhash Chand, who sells ice cream from a small outlet in Chandigarh’s posh Sector 17 market, is worried about the future of his business. His chocolate and vanilla ice cream cones that come with a generous sprinkling of chocolate chips and a cherry on top are very popular with shoppers. Even so, Chand is anxious. A native of Himachal Pradesh, he will travel to Kangra to cast his vote in the last phase of the general elections. But his thoughts are focussed on whether the Member of Parliament from Chandigarh will step in to oust the hawkers who, Chand says, are eating into the businesses of long-established shopkeepers in the market.  

The Sector 17 market houses a number of local and multinational clothing brands as well as a plethora of eateries. It also houses some 500 hawkers who have set up their makeshift stalls and run brisk businesses of their own. The shopkeepers, many of whom, like Chand, have been around for three decades, see them as a threat and want them evicted. In fact, the market is dotted with black banners demanding their ouster.

The shop owners claim that the hawkers have not only harmed their  businesses — they have also had an adverse impact on real estate value of the market. “The rentals in this market have gone down by about 35-40 per cent because of their presence,” says Neeraj Bansal, President, Chandi­garh Busi­ness Council, and owner of Sindhi Sweets, one of the oldest sweet shops in Chandigarh.

“We have knocked on the doors of our MP Kirron Kher to resolve the problem, but to no avail,” Bansal says, referring to the BJP’s sitting MP. He adds that the city is slowly losing its “beautiful” tag. Chand­igarh is fondly referred to as "City Beautiful" by its residents. 

“Madam (Kher) is very arrogant and does not listen to us when we approach her with our problems. We don’t want to vote for her,” says an aggrieved shopkeeper.

Another one alleges that on the issue of hawkers, the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh is hand-in-glove with BJP politicians. “Many of the hawkers work for these politicians and so our cries for the removal of this flea market has not been addressed so far,” says a shopkeeper on the condition of anonymity.

With so many people unhappy with Kher’s handling of the situation in the Sector 17 market, will the MP from Chandigarh find it tough to retain her seat?

Not necessarily, since many voters might want to elect the BJP’s candidate simply because they are rooting for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “We want to vote for Modi even though the Congress’s Pawan Kumar Bansal is a better candidate. But Modi thinks about the country and we want him to win,” says Shyam, who works at a handloom store. 

Shravan, 48, who works at Sant footwear, a shop which has been around for 31 years, is angry that the vendors are taking away the shop’s business. “They sell their stuff at a cheaper rate and this has resulted in a decrease in the footfall at our shop.”

There are also claims that not more than 150 of the 500-odd hawkers have licences.

However, the hawkers have a different story to tell. “We don’t know why the  showroom owners have a problem with us. We don’t sell the same stuff as they do and for the last one year, we have been paying a rent of Rs 2,200 per month to the municipality,” says Kajal, who sells women’s ethnic footwear.
 

The shop-owners also claim that the flea market has an impact on the overall shopping experience of customers. Not all customers agree with that contention. Kiran Pah­uja, 66, who is a regular at the market, and is shopping for her grandchildren, says that those who cannot afford the products in the showrooms buy from the hawkers. “Why can’t they co-exist,” she asks.

But peaceful co-existence with the hawkers is not on the minds of the shop owners here. And come election day, that might have an impact on the way they vote.