Kolkata, Mar 7: Traders selling election campaign Merchandise said that COVID-19 pandemic and strict restrictions by the Election Commission have kept the demand for campaign material for West Bengal Assembly polls this year low compared to earlier elections.
They said most of the demand till now for poll campaign material is from the Trinamool Congress which has already announced its full list of candidates on Friday.
“Demand is on the lower side compared to previous elections due to various factors including COVID-19 and EC’s restrictions,” traders said.
However, they are optimistic that demand will pick-up as poll heat rises with every passing day.
The traders at Burrabazar are hopeful that once the full candidate list of BJP candidates is announced demand will kick-in. The BJP on Saturday announced its first list of 57 candidates for the West Bengal Assembly election.
“More than 90 per cent demand is from TMC and their demand is since the last few days even before the candidate list was announced. The demand from Left parties and BJP is around 5 per cent each as of now. Congress is out of sight,” SP Textile poll merchandise wholesaler at Burrabazaar Rahul Gambhir told PTI.
The narrow lanes of Pragya Patti in Burrabazar which is the hub for poll campaign merchandise are now full of colourful poll campaign materials waiting to be sold to respective political party supporters.
From saris, handbags, T-shirts to scarfs, hoodies, masks and balloons and flags, the shops have stocked them all for the election.
Though, e-commerce is not left behind but sales aren’t great yet.
The Flag Corporation and Flag Shop founder Gyan Shah from Mumbai said they have a presence in online marketplace but the products they offer are not of low-end fast moving products for campaigns.
“Our offering is high quality and so individuals buy our products who demand high quality items. During elections demand definitely goes up but costly items demand doesn’t move very fast,” he said.
Prices had moved up over the previous year, price range from Rs 5 to Rs 200 depending upon items and sizes. Flags are the fastest selling items and least in demand is saree, traders said.
West Bengal Assembly election will be held in eight phases, beginning on March 27. Votes will be counted on May 2. (PTI)
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