The word on the street

Brij Lal, in his late fifties, sits outside the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, selling merchandise bearing party symbols. He has a handicapped son to support, he says, but it has been growing increasingly difficult to make sales. Demand for his wares has been low for some time now. After the huge defeat that the Congress suffered in the General Election earlier this year, he adds, sales almost entirely disappeared, and even the number of visitors to the party’s Akbar Road headquarters has fallen substantiallyBrij Lal, in his late fifties, sits outside the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, selling merchandise bearing party symbols. He has a handicapped son to support, he says, but it has been growing increasingly difficult to make sales. Demand for his wares has been low for some time now. After the huge defeat that the Congress suffered in the General Election earlier this year, he adds, sales almost entirely disappeared, and even the number of visitors to the party’s Akbar Road headquarters has fallen substantially