Rajasthan assembly elections 2018: Poll merchandise sells like hot cakes in Jaipur

JAIPUR: While visiting the shops of flags-sellers at this time, one will find them full of flags of different parties, broaches, caps, collar pins, etc, highlighting the election euphoria in the state.
Hustle and bustle has started in the shops of the Pink City and the owners are busy counting the orders that are lined up, which are expected to increase in the coming days.
“When the rallies will start in full swing, there will be more orders. We are just preparing in advance because during election time, parties are always in a hurry to get the orders as soon as possible,” said Rajesh Saini, one of the flag-sellers in the city. Before the internet era, when ballot papers were used, party workers would go and distribute flags, caps, broaches to make the voters aware of their symbols. Now-a-days, with the EVM machines, party workers buy dummy machines to make the voters aware of the button number they have to press to vote for their party.
“We have ordered many such machines. They are very much in demand, especially for the candidates in the rural area,” said Rajesh. Demand of ‘safas’ or turbans has also gone up, which are being distributed and worn by the parties’ supporters during rallies and campaigns. He further added that with the passing years, the sales have gone down, especially in the cities, “You will not find party flags or banners in the entire city these days. Election commission has become really strict and keeps an eye on the expenditure, which none of the political parties wants to give. It is still prevalent in the rural areas, but in urban areas, due to the stricter norms, the sales of election materials have gone down.”
Indian national political parties are not the only customers for shops in the city. Recently, some shops have sent 10,000 sample flags for the national elections in South Africa, due to be held next year. Rajesh said that due to cheaper cost, than their own country, they prefer to buy flags from India.