Hyderabad: As the elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) were announced, there were a few people, other than politicians, whose hopes suddenly began burning bright.
Makers of campaign material like cut-outs, flag and banner makers and artists, sound and light system rentals and those who give vehicles on rent to political parties all had their antennae up as soon as the election notification came.
However, though the campaign will be a short but highly intense one this time, with not even two weeks left for the polls, the campaign material business, which was in the pits after being hit by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, is yet to see the kind of energetic business seen during usual election campaigns.
The delays in finalisation of candidate lists by most parties except the TRS and the subsequent delays in the launch of campaigns by other parties is seeing campaign material providers waiting patiently for their ‘clients’.
“We wait for five years to do some business during elections. Once the elections are round the corner, we employ a large number of workers for making customised campaigning vehicles and material for different political parties. But this time, the scene is quite dull. Usually, we provide around 300 vehicles for campaigning, but this time we have received very few orders from all political parties. Even flexi printing is yet to catch up,” says D Chanda Rao, Artist and Proprietor, Chinna Cine Arts.
Party flag makers too are in a similar situation. “Political parties give us flag cloth material and we make flags. So far, we have received just four to five orders,” says Mahendar, one such vendor in the city.
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