MADURAI: At 80, M Anbalagan is back to work for the elections. His job is simple. Supply booth kits. For nearly four decades, the Madurai-based DMK worker has been preparing kits used at polling booths. Each kit includes basic items such as an exam pad, pen, pencil, sharpener, eraser, and a file. The kits will be used by booth agents to record hourly voter turnout on election day and also to track votes of each candidate on the day of counting.
With the 2026 Assembly elections nearing, Anbalagan has already begun work. He has received an order for 2,000 booth kits and expects more in the coming days.
“I usually get orders 10 days before polling. I make sure delivery is done at least four days in advance,” he said.
His work begins in the busy lanes of East Avani Moola Street. Stationery is bought in bulk. Kits are assembled by hand. Each kit is sold for Rs 80, leaving him with a profit margin of Rs 20. In addition, he supplies flags, caps, and mufflers. Production is outsourced, but designs are finalised by him.
“I have received an order for 2,000 booth kits from the office of Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (DMK’s candidate for Madurai Central constituency), and earlier I had supplied kits to his father, PT Rajan, too,” Anbalagan said.
“For other campaign materials such as caps and flags, I outsourced production to a North Indian family based in the city, providing them with the required designs. From these items, I earn a net profit of around 25%.”
Over the years, his customers have cut across party lines. DMK, AIADMK, BJP and AMMK leaders have all placed orders with him. “No one asks about the party. They just want the kits on time,” he said. The scale of work can be large. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he handled around 10,000 booth kits and 5,000 other campaign materials.
Anbalagan’s journey began at the age 15, following in the footsteps of his father, Meenakshi Sundaram. To support himself, he ran a small screen-printing unit. Elections became a steady source of income. He would take leave from work and focus entirely on campaign supplies. Now with the DMK, he had earlier worked with the AIADMK. But his role has remained unchanged: a supplier trusted across parties.
Recalling his interaction with Periyar, Anbalagan says, “I was a school dropout at that time, but he (Periyar) advised me to continue studies, and I went on to complete a certification course.”
Another memory is from his AIADMK days. Asked to bring soda for M G Ramachandran late at night, he managed to get a shop opened and delivered it. “I got to meet him. He even offered me tea,” he says. As election season picks up, the 80-year-old is back at his table sorting, packing and tying up booth kits, just as he has done since 1986.