Can you imagine a political meeting without a party flag/banner or for that matter a vehicle used by the candidate/ partymen without the flag?
It can be an unimaginable situation for the Dravidian parties in the State, who are used to the banner and cut-out culture.
Be it a marriage of a party cadre or some such function in his/her family, for attending the executive committee meeting of the party or a small event that would otherwise have gone unnoticed, party functionaries invariably ensure visibility by placing banners and party flags.
Sitting for nearly three hours or more at the Codissia Trade Fair Grounds, in wait for Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who addressed a public meeting here on Tuesday to seek support for the AIADMK candidate A P Nagarajan, a good number of women party cadres were seen sporting a cap bearing the party symbol.
The act could well be to please the party Chief. But behind all this, look at the business potential in this space, ranging from sale of party flags, banners, caps, dhotis, lockets, hand-fans and so on…
The business is quite unorganised, but seems a roaring one, going by the flags and banners erected by the various political parties across cities and towns, wherever the party high command or Chief addresses an election rally.
"But this election season has been quite dull,'' says T M Saravana Kumar of Veerapathra Tex in Tirupur.
The unit is engaged in printing, dyeing and stitching of party flags for all parties. "We source caps, decorative hangings and hand-fans from Sivakasi,'' said a worker at Veerapathra Tex, continuing to arrange and pack party flags.
"Í have been working here for four years. Elections or otherwise, we do have work. No political meeting takes place without banners or flags. There is some meeting somewhere or other every other day. That apart, of late, we are getting huge order for car flags,'' said Seetha, a worker at this unit.
Saravana Kumar, however, conceded that the orders were down by 30 per cent this election year compared to the last. "The election commission’s close watch is impacting our business. But then, who says 'no’ to flags and banners yet?’ he asked.