60-year-old shop eyes campaign frenzy

BENGALURU:  Every election time, the atmosphere in this shop turns festive. This time too it's no different. Following the announcement of the poll dates, the six-decade-old shop on RV Road, which manufactures election campaign materials, now resembles a beehive, bustling with activity.Even as phones have not stopped ringing, one of the shop owners Anil Jain says this is business time for them, but it will get more busier once the nominations are filed.

He adds that the shop has even started attracting political parties from across India. "They come here to buy ready-made gear for their parties. It's preparation time for us. We are all geared up to take orders which run into lakhs of rupees by the time parties finish campaigning," Anil says. The establishment was started by Paras Mal Jain and is now run by four of his grandchildren.

Speaking to The New Indian Express, Anil says the the shop was earlier located on Avenue road, and was shifted to shifted to RV Road about 40 years ago. It is a one-stop shop for all election-related paraphernalia -- from caps, flags, badges and buntings to shirts, shawls, saris and dhotis among others. 

"Ours is the only shop which supplies to every district in the state and also to several other states across the country. We have clients in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha etc," Anil says. Even independent candidates come here for their specific needs once the nominations are announced. "The campaign materials are at a reasonable rate, starting from `2 to `100. Some of the items cost over `1,000," he says.

However, Anil is disappointed that the Election Commission has brought in new rules which do not allow parties to put up buntings or posters. "It is celebration of democracy. Like you allow crackers to be burst on Diwali and like you allow colours for Holi, we should allow parties to celebrate the festival of democracy," he adds.