Bhopal: New Market in the city that otherwise remains busy from morning until night wore a deserted look as the shoppers were glued to their TV sets or smart phones to know the outcome of the Lok Sabha elections on Thursday. Shoppers deserting the market led to the loss of an estimated 90% business. The shopkeepers told Free Press that what stunned them was not the election outcome but the shoppers’ behaviour as it never happened the way as it did during elections results atleast.
To them it is reminiscent of the days of TV serials Ramayana and Mahabharata when on the days of telecast the streets and market use to wear a deserted look and it use to glue the viewers to the TV screens the same way and evoked similar enthusiasm in the viewers. They hardly had any doubt about Narendra Modi’s win and forming the next government. The general reaction was: ‘Ye to hona hi tha… .’ Two LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens were installed near Hanuman Temple in New Market for elections results. As there were hardly any customers, most of shopkeepers spent their time watching results either on LCD screens or on their smart phones.