Come election day, voters in Tamil Nadu can avail a 10% discount on their bill in prominent restaurants in the state if they vote. The discount can be availed by customers by displaying the voting mark on their index fingers and their voter ID cards.

The Tamil Nadu Hotels Association (TNHA), an umbrella association with close to 10,000 hotels under it across the state, has announced the discount on bills of customers who have voted. The outlets in which this discount will be applicable include Hotel Saravana Bhavan, Hotel Sangeetha, Hot Chips, Vasantha Bhavan etc.

Speaking to TNM about the decision, R Srinivasan, the secretary of TNHA, said that this is a small way to ensure more people vote in cities. “On the date of polling, people can avail this offer after 6 pm in most restaurants across Tamil Nadu. Since voting ends at 6 pm, we have fixed this cutoff. This is just a small and humble contribution to the nation from us,” he said.

Around 1,200 hotels in Chennai are members of the association.

TNHA decided to implement the idea after a district electoral officer suggested that they use different rubber stamps on the bill to increase voter turnout. However, members of the association thought the discount was a better idea to encourage voting and went ahead with it, Srinivasan added.

According to Srinivas, customers can walk into any prominent restaurant and avail the discount, but it is not mandatory for the restaurant to have displayed the announcement of the offer in their outlet. “We had a short period to consult all members. Hence the office-bearers had a meeting and we took a decision. We urge the members to stand with us and support us in this endeavour,” Srinivasan added.

The Election Commission of India has adopted several mechanisms to ensure 100% voter turnout in Tamil Nadu. Trichy district election officers have undertaken various campaigns like distributing free cloth bags in markets with the message to vote printed on them, distributing printed bookmarks with the ECI message on them, etc.