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Punjab assembly elections : Curbs on political rallies hit printing business in Ludhiana
Citing the curb on the political rallies, roadshows and gatherings by the Election Commission of India ahead of the Punjab assembly elections as well as increasing reliance of digital campaigns, Ludhiana-based printing businesses reported up to a 30-40% loss in comparison of 2017 elections
The curb on the political rallies, roadshows and gatherings by the Election Commission of India (ECI) ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled on February 20 has majorly hit the printing business and resulted in loss of employment for many.
Despite receiving the orders from candidates of various political parties for printing their pamphlets, posters, banners, party flags among others from the neighbouring states too, business, according to the printing press owners, has seen a 30-40% decline as compared to the previous assembly elections held in a pre-pandemic setting.
The ECI, in its latest order, has allowed physical rallies in open grounds with 30% capacity of the venue and with 50% capacity in indoor halls.
The body, however, extended a ban on vehicle rallies, roadshows and has capped 20 persons for door-to-door campaigning.
Speaking about the situation, printing press owner Parveen Chaudhary said, “Elections used to be a festival for us as we used to have handsome earnings unlike this election. The cap on political rallies and allowing limited members for door-to-door campaigns in the beginning also impacted business as we did not receive as many orders as during the last elections.”
A labour contractor, meanwhile, claimed that compared to 2017, printing press owners did not hire even half the workforce during these elections.
Further attributing losses to digital campaigning, Neeraj Kumar, another printing press owner, said, “The prominent leaders are holding virtual rallies and campaigning is stronger online as all the parties have their digital war rooms. This has also impacted orders. To add to that, the cost of raw material including paper has gone high which has increased our expenses.”
Notably, city-based businesses said candidates form several regional and national political parties contesting elections in other states including Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have placed orders for posters with them.
A local printing press manager, however, said delays in payments are fairly commonplace.
“Many candidates do not make payments on time and thus their work is done at a slow pace. Priority has to be given to customers who pay timely as business has already been impacted amid Covid pandemic”, the manager said.
