It is not uncommon to find wedding invitations requesting guests not to bring any gifts or at times, asking the invitees to donate for charity instead of presenting costly gifts to the newly-wed couples.
A 27-year-old man from Hyderabad printed his wedding card with a special appeal to the guests - vote for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming polls.
Mukesh Rao Yande, a staunch supporter of the prime minister, requested the guests to skip extravagant presents for their wedding and instead gift them their vote for PM Modi in the general elections.
The cover of Mukesh and Anusha's wedding invite seems like any other card at a first glance, but has the words: "Our gift is your vote for Modi in 2019 Lok Sabha Election". A lotus - the BJP's official symbol - is also seen before and after the message on the card.
However, the idea, proposed by Mukesh Yande was not received well by his family in the beginning who claimed that guests who support several other parties will attend the wedding and would not be well received by those guests, news agency IANS reported.
In the end, the assistant engineer got his way, getting about 600 wedding invites printed for his 21 February wedding.
"We are all so busy with our day-to-day affairs that we find it difficult to dedicate time to do something for our nation.. The least we can do is to support someone who toils for the nation," Mukesh Yande was quoted by PTI as saying.
"Few of my family members did object to this at first, but I convinced them... It is my way of endorsing Narendra Modi's work," he added.
The 27-year-old supports the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in the state, but wants to see PM Modi continue in his leadership role, IANS reported.
The "gift for vote" idea is not new.
Last month, a couple in Gujarat made the same appeal, though topping it with a Rafale themed wedding card with the words "Keep calm and trust NaMo" inscribed on it. The wedding card got the prime minister's eye and he wished the couple and blessed them to have "a happy and prosperous life."
A couple from Haryana made a similar appeal with a small difference - Vote for Aam Admi Party, read their wedding invite.
