Himachal Pradesh’s pandemic-hit printing companies are given new life by assembly polls
Candidates are busy sweating it out in the hustings. However, printing units in Himachal Pradesh, which is poll bound, are smiling with large orders for banners, flags, and hoardings.
Local printers claim that the assembly elections have given new life to their businesses, which suffered losses during COVID-19.
Himachal Pradesh’s election is scheduled for November 12. Candidates in Himachal Pradesh are making every effort to make their campaign visible by putting up flags, hoardings, posters and banners wherever they can.
412 candidates are trying to win the 68 Assembly seats.
Top leaders from the BJP, which is trying to break the trend in which a party does not return to power in the state after two terms consecutively, hold two to three rallies daily and public meetings. Priyanka and other senior Congress leaders, as well as some AAP leaders, have also held rallies within the state.
Rana Arts Flex Printing’s Atul Rana has been awarded a huge order of Rs. lakhs from an independent candidate in his district.
Rana claimed that printers in the area have earned an estimated Rs 5 crore from these elections. Rana stated that there are approximately 500 printing units in the state.
“It is encouraging to see orders flow in during elections. Rana stated that it has helped us recover some losses from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, he said that the business has not recovered from the pre-pandemic levels. “Before pandemic, our turnover was Rs 50 lakh. Now it is Rs 25-30 million.”
Rana agrees with Sunny Sahni who owns a printing press in the Gaggal area.
He stated that local units receive orders mainly from Independent candidates. Printers from other states, such as Haryana, are challenging local printing units. They are grabbing orders from national-level parties.
Local printers claim they get very few orders from national-level parties.
Rana said that outside printers only appear during elections and seize the business while units in the state have all the machines to make every type of product, including large hoardings and life-size cutouts.
“We must work with low margins because of competition from outsiders. He stated that their quality is also low because they are focused only on one-time gain.
Another printer stated, “Only a handful of units with good connections to political leaders have been in able to obtain orders from national-level party members.”
“If they want votes then why don’t they give business to the local people also?” asked the visibly upset printer. He demanded that the government make a law about this.
