Swiggy Instamart has caught attention with a unique campaign encouraging people in Maharashtra to participate in the state’s assembly elections. The quick-commerce branch of Swiggy has been including free tinda (Indian round gourd) with some orders in Mumbai as part of its promotional effort to get people to vote. But what’s the connection between tinda and the election? Let’s break it down.
Swiggy Instamart’s campaign gained traction after a post by Mumbai-based user Eesha Tirodkar went viral. Tirodkar shared a photo of a paper bag from her Swiggy Instamart delivery, which contained the free tinda along with an eye-catching message. The message explained that just as the recipient might be stuck with a tinda they didn’t want, the people of Maharashtra could be stuck with a government they didn’t elect if they chose not to vote.
The message on the paper bag read, “Didn’t choose tinday but stuck with tinday? That’s what happens when someone else makes the choice for you.” It then encouraged customers to cast their votes and “Own your choices.”
Tirodkar, who shared the post, also pointed out the wordplay in the campaign, with the word tinda rhyming with Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde’s name.
The voting for Maharashtra’s assembly elections started on Wednesday at 7 am and will end at 6 pm, covering all 288 constituencies in the state. The contest for power in the Maharashtra Assembly has been intense, with shifting alliances and complex caste dynamics. The main competition is between the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance and the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The ruling Mahayuti alliance includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), while the opposition MVA is made up of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and the NCP led by Sharad Pawar.
