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The ink is yet to be splashed
"Going by the earlier election campaigns, we should have been printing posters and handbills and other publicity materials by now. But so far we haven't got any orders this season," says a senior printer in the city.
Though Wednesday is the last day for filing of nominations in the region, the election fever is yet to grip the city as far as printers are concerned. Unlike the previous years when the city's skyline used to be dotted with huge cut-outs of leaders, walls pasted with bills and streets littered with notices of various parties, they look barren still.
Printers attribute the lull to the delay in finalising candidates by the parties. "We expect things to pick up in a week after the filing of nomination is over. Moreover, business this time may not be to our expectations as most of the publicity material for major contenders like the Telugu Desam Party and the Congress are being printed in Hyderabad. We will be left with the business from independents and smaller parties,'' says Raju of G.K. Printers.
K.V. Rao of Vamsi Printers says the Election Commission's curbs on publicity is another reason for the reduced flow of printing material for the campaign. "Earlier, the overall business during the election season would have been around Rs. 10 lakhs to Rs. 15 lakhs for each of the major printing shops. Of late, it has dwindled to Rs. 4 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs," he says.
For big printers, losing the election business is not a problem. Many feel even relieved to a certain extent that they no longer have to run after political leaders and their henchmen for payment. But, for the small printers and banner makers it is a kick below belt.
"We have been waiting for months to cash in on the season. When we approached the local TDP and Congress leaders for orders, we were shrugged off, as most of the material is coming from their central publicity cells in Hyderabad. We are only expecting a few orders from the party well-wishers who spend from their pockets to get some work done and please their leaders," says Vijay and Ramesh of Vijaya Arts and Printers.
They note that the campaigning style has also changed over the years and feel that this too is a prime cause for the plummeting business. "The parties are more dependent on electronic media and other forms of digital publishing. They are more into the personal contact mode of campaigning, like Advani's rath yatra or Chandrababu Naidu's hi-tech buses,'' says Ramesh.
For printers, every candidate, irrespective of the party tag, is a prospective client, but the mood is yet to set in.
By Sumit Bhattacharjee
in Visakhapatnam
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Life
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