Lok Sabha polls of 2024 have witnessed a steep fall in the usage of traditional campaign material due to increase in the scope of digital platforms.
Now the candidates and political parties are more interested in group SMS, usage of social media through reels and memes to campaign in this election.
This changing trend had an impact on the printing business as well as traditional methods of promotion during election campaigns.
The demand for flags, whistles, banners, badges and other promotional materials in the market has decreased rapidly. If the wholesale traders of election material are to be believed, then this time till now, there has been no demand coming from the districts surrounding Purvanchal.
Just five years ago, whatever type election may be, there used to be a surge in the market of campaign material a month in advance. Wholesale traders used to place orders for flags, banners, holdings, whistle ,badges, caps, t-shirts, bindi with party’s election symbol, bangles and other materials used by women.
Orders were also received earlier from political parties and candidates were interested in getting posters printed with their photos. But this time, very small orders were received.
Agarwal brothers of Lucknow , a family engaged in the business of campaign material for the past four decades, claimed that earlier the candidates used to easily spend Rs 12-15 lakhs on campaign material but now they are not spending even half of it.
Divyansh, a businessman engaged in printing trade said,”This time there is a recession in the election printing business. In this Lok Sabha election, the digitised mode has made a deep impact on the election campaign. Due to this, the printing business has been ruined”. He added that this time there was only 40 per cent business left.
Raghuraj Pal, who deals in election material near GPO, says that till now, he has not received a single order. Whereas in the last assembly elections, orders for materials were received a month in advance.
Anil, the director of Dev Pooja Enterprises, which sells election material, says that in his 25 years of business, he has never seen such a recession in campaign material.
During the elections, be it Lal Masjid Gali, Bhanumati Square of Aminabad in Old Lucknow, famous for the wholesale business of printing campaign material or the traders in front of party offices, there had been small traders from the districts of Purvanchal and Awadh, all lost business in this election season.
Traders are so disappointed that the shops are looking dull because they have not been decorated properly due to the lacklustre response.
An IT expert, Ramesh Verma, says that the methods of publicity have completely changed. Now the candidates and political parties are interested in digital campaigns.
Earlier, posters were pasted on the walls during elections. The Election Commission has implemented many rules regarding this, so candidates are now avoiding it. “This is the era of memes and digital posters, there is a demand for this in the market. Reels are in highest demand from the candidates. In such a situation, new experiments are being done in the election meetings and rallies. This time, there is a demand in the market for innovation, not tradition,” Ramesh said.