Show inked fingers, get discounts at restaurants

Some of the restaurants in Patna have decided to offer discounts to those customers who have voted in the last phase of the general election.

Lakhu Ka Dhaba, a multi-cuisine restaurant on Fraser Road, has planned to offer a discount of 17 per cent.

"Since we are going to elect the 17th Lok Sabha in 2019, we have put up a discount of 17 per cent for voters who will visit our restaurant today after casting their vote. Our idea also is to promote voting," said Vijay Kumar, a staff of the restaurant.

This is an eight-year-old restaurant but the discount is being offered for the first time, he said.

At Laziz Tandoori, also located on Fraser Road, its manager Dushyant Raj said there will be a range of discount on various food items.

"On Sunday, we will be offering a discount to voters, who come to our place and show the inked finger, and, depending on the results on May 23, will offer a bigger discount on that day," Raj said.

But many restaurateurs are playing it by ear and plan to offer discounts if only they get a good crowd.

"People prefer to stay indoors after voting on polling day, and during the day time hardly any customers come, so by evening if we get a decent number of customers, we might offer a discount to voters," said an employee of Sagar Restaurant on Old Patna Bypass Road.

Owner of Food Hut, another restaurant, also on Old Bypass Road has similar plans.

Patna district has two constituencies - Patna Sahib and Pataliputra, both going to polls on Sunday.

The main city falls with the Patna Sahib constituency, represented by sitting MP Shatrughan Sinha fighting on a Congress ticket and pitted against BJP's Ravi Shankar Prasad, which is expected to be a keen contest.