Political parties shy away from huge public meetings to keep
costs low.
Even as the election commission (EC) tightens the noose on political parties over their blatant disregard for the code of conduct, the parties are scurrying to keep their campaign expenditure as low as possible. And as they tighten their belts, the city decorators are among the worst hit.
Election time, which was usually seen as lucrative period by decorators, has become a bad time for business as parties are focusing more on group meetings and door-to-door campaign than huge public events. Also, strict implementation of the code of conduct by EC for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections has forced the state government to abort or postpone various events, causing a further dent on the business.
“The state will cast votes after 10 days and there are hardly any public meetings organised by political parties in the city,” said Chandraprakash Dave of Dave Decorators.
Moreover, for smaller functions and meetings, workers of the respective parties used their local contacts to arrange for decoration and sound system.
“The changing patterns of campaigning have hit our business badly. Earlier, political parties used to organise huge public meetings, which required decorations to be done on a large scale and we would cater to their needs. But this election they are organising only small rallies and we are hardly getting any business,” Dave said. Rajesh Gandhi, owner of Tolat Electronics, said, “Earlier, we used to supply sound systems and other equipment for public meetings by political parties. But this year, the political parties have cut down on public meetings.”
Also, many business events have been postponed till after elections as the politicians and government officials cannot attend them because of the code of conduct.
The EC is keeping an eye on the money being spent by candidates during the campaign. It has also made arrangements to ensure that the candidates do not quote lower rates for decorative items or sound system used by them during the campaign.
Most candidates are keeping their expenses very low so that they do not have to face the EC’s wrath, a source said.
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