MP: Eye on polls, traders look to rake in the moolah with party-specific merchandise

  • | Saturday | 23rd March, 2019

Traders are making all out efforts to reach out to prospective buyers of election campaign material, so that they could make arrangements in time. The election cap-shirt-bracelet business is worth over Rs 20 crore in Madhya Pradesh in the coming one month. BHOPAL: With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, there is heavy demand for poll merchandise. However, business is yet to gather momentum as most political parties have not yet declared the list of their candidates. BJP and Congress leaders are still waiting for the list of candidates to come, but the business is expected to gain momentum from April onwards when the campaign would reach its peak,” Agrawal added.“Poll material does not get ready overnight.

BHOPAL: With Lok Sabha elections round the corner, there is heavy demand for poll merchandise. The election cap-shirt-bracelet business is worth over Rs 20 crore in Madhya Pradesh in the coming one month. With BSP already naming its candidates, there is a spurt in demand for the party's merchandise.According to traders, election campaign material worth at least Rs 15 lakh per Lok Sabha constituency is required to create a favourable atmosphere for a candidate.There are 29 LS constituencies in MP and every constituency is expected to have at least four serious candidates, including one each from the BJP and Congress, apart from BSP, SP, AAP, the newly-formed outfit SAPAKS, and Independent candidates.Poll material targeted at the youth is in demand this election season. Traders are making all out efforts to reach out to prospective buyers of election campaign material, so that they could make arrangements in time. However, business is yet to gather momentum as most political parties have not yet declared the list of their candidates. Also, due to increased prices in the post-GST era, the market is subdued.Ajay Agrawal, who provides election campaign material in Bhopal , Lucknow and Mumbai, said the cost of campaign materials like T-shirt and prints on it and plastic items have increased due to GST.The cost of cloth and paper, the two things used for making banners, posters, T-shirts, caps and others, have gone up. Besides, the transportation cost has also increased.T-shirts, caps, stoles (gamcha) of political parties, which range between Rs 5 and Rs 200, are in demand the most, besides the Namo bracelets.“Political party-wise, we are getting the maximum enquiry of orders from the BSP. BJP and Congress leaders are still waiting for the list of candidates to come, but the business is expected to gain momentum from April onwards when the campaign would reach its peak,” Agrawal added.“Poll material does not get ready overnight. The screen printing takes time and since the demand comes in bulk during the peak season, the items have to be kept ready, be it the material coming from other states or the products that get ready in our workshop here," said Sakesh, who is into screen printing of poll material.The election campaign material comes from several states. While Gujarat is the biggest supplier of flags of political parties, caps, sarees and T-shirts are manufactured in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra , apart from Gujarat.The sale of sarees has come down since it comes under the category of gift, said a trader Ayushi, adding that demand for gamcha, cap, badge and masks of leaders is more while demand for banners and posters is almost like the previous elections.Traders expect good business this poll season, believing that the curb on social media campaign would bring the contestants back to using the poll material to woo voters.

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