rom Royal Stag and Bagpiper whisky to desi brand Naina, Delhi's slums are set to be flooded with free liquor, and cash, ahead of Wednesday's Assembly elections. Several candidates, both Congress and BJP, are gearing up to keep their voters happy, just like in every other election. Interestingly, there are allegations that even the Aam Aadmi Party is following in the footsteps of its big brothers by planning to distribute cash a day ahead of the elections.

Liquor vendors that this newspaper contacted, mentioned some specific areas where alcohol will be distributed: Wazirpur, Tri Nagar, Shastrinagar (Sadar Bazar constituency), Pratap Bagh (Model Town), Seelampur, Pandav Nagar (Patparganj), Shahdara, Karawal Nagar, Bhajanpura (Ghonda), Vishwas Nagar, Najafgarh, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar and Chanakya Place (Janakpuri), among others.

"From cheap country liquor to slightly better brands, candidates are leaving no stones unturned," said a liquor vendor who did not wish to be identified. Whisky, rum and beer are popular choices. "Congress candidates have stocked up on Royal Stag whisky and Imperial Blue. BJP candidates are giving Bagpiper, Haywards 5000 and other such brands," he claimed.

Cheap local liquor such as Naina Premium Whisky, Tractor Fine Whisky, 8 PM Whisky, Sikkim XXX Rum, Superior 5000 beer and many such other brands are also being stocked up.

The retail price of a Royal Stag 180 ml bottle is Rs 120; Imperial Blue costs Rs 75; Bagpiper Rs 65; while Naina is available for Rs 35 (see box).

Another liquor shop owner told this correspondent that crates of alcohol have started arriving in the city from neighbouring states. "Apart from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh that already supply cheap liquor to Delhi, alcohol is also coming from Rajasthan and Punjab at highly discounted rates." He said that the candidates usually hand over crates of alcohol to the local "sardar" or the unofficial "head" of the slum, who then distributes the bottles to those who have voter identification cards. "The number of bottles each person gets, depends on the number of voters he has in his family or can gather," he claimed.

"The sardar of the slum gets a full 750 ml bottle, while the others get 180 ml or a quarter bottle of liquor per head," the vendor added.

As for cash, Kishore Kumar, an auto driver who lives in Patparganj, alleged, "All the parties have promised Rs 500 per head along with liquor and food to voters in general. However, women voters will get Rs 200 or Rs 250 apart from shawls, saris or a blanket."

Sanjay Tiwari, a driver who resides in Najafgarh said that people in his colony are negotiating with the parties how much money they will get. "Some people told us that they will offer us Rs 200 apart from alcohol, lunch and dinner. However, people in my area have demanded Rs 500 to which the party agents have agreed."

Asif Ahmed, a resident of Kathputli Colony, a slum in west Delhi said that the votes are decided two days prior to the election: "This is the time when parties distribute liquor and cash openly to all the houses in the basti. They also bribe us with free lunch and dinner. However, people do not always vote for the party they have promised to."

Kishore Kumar, the auto driver alleged that the AAP has offered Rs 500 each to the voters in his slums. However, Pankaj Gupta, an AAP worker in that party's legal cell refuted such claims and told this newspaper that they have filed several complaints with the local police against people who have impersonated AAP workers and have offered cash to the voters. "We have filed and will file complaints against such rumours. Also, we have asked the general public to report to the police if they come across any person who is offering bribes in any form and claims to be an AAP worker," Gupta asserted.

On contacting the Congress for a comment on the issue, J.P. Agarwal, president of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee, asserted, "We are not doing this and we do not believe you."

A senior BJP spokesperson admitted on the condition of anonymity that "murky business" does take place during elections. "Individual candidates may be doling out goodies to appease the voters, however, all this happens without the knowledge of national leaders of the party. Senior leaders are kept out of loop in all these matters."