Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): The voters in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh have been wearing their loyalties not on their sleeves but on their heads. The traditional 'Pahari topi' of Himachal Pradesh is considered by different political parties as a part of their identity. While in other states, voters may prefer to maintain silence about their affiliation to a political party, in Himachal, they pronounce their support and loyalty through their headgear.
If your cap is maroon in colour, then you must be a BJP supporter and if it is green, then you are with Congress. The concept of green and maroon stem from the upper and lower regions of the state respectively. Himachal Pradesh is geographically divided into two regions- upper Himachal and lower Himachal, which also constitute one of the determining identities in Himachal's politics.
The trend of wearing caps affiliated with political parties started with six-time Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, who loved to don a green flap headgear. His supporters, thus, started wearing the same colour to express their solidarity with him. Similarly, Prem Kumar Dhumal, BJP leader and two-time Chief Minister of the state has made the maroon cap his trademark. Since 1985, no political party in the state has been able to stay in power for the next term and the colour of the caps kept changing.