Comments
The season of Assembly elections in five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur -- seems to have brought some much-needed cheer for manufacturers of Holi colours and cannons in and around Uttar Pradesh, according to an Assocham report on Friday.
The results of these polls will be announced on Saturday, on the eve of Holi.
The survey was conducted over the last one month by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) Social Development Foundation to ascertain the impact of elections in the poll-bound and other states on sale of Holi merchandise.
“Though the Holi festival has been used by political parties across most parts of India to connect with the masses and bond with voters, the election season has certainly made it lucrative for colour manufacturers in and around UP, where this festival is celebrated the most,” said D.S. Rawat, National Secretary-General, Assocham, while releasing findings of the survey.
Assocham representatives interacted with about 100 manufacturers/ suppliers/ traders of Holi colours, water guns and other such products in Allahabad, Hathras, Kanpur, Lucknow, Mathura, Meerut, and Varanasi that are known for their Holi festivities.
Besides, they also interacted randomly with about 200 shopkeepers in wholesale and retail markets selling Holi merchandise including colours, water guns, balloons, T-shirts and other items in 10 cities, including those in the states that are awaiting election results – Ahmedabad, Dehradun, Delhi-NCR, Jaipur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Panaji and Patiala.
Many respondents said they are doing brisk business. Though many people purchase colours, sprinklers and other such items in bulk for parties, this time around there is an element of excitement owing to the poll season and the impending results.
Most of the shopkeepers said there has been a rise of up to 40 per cent in sales as many supporters are buying pichkaris, colours and merchandise plastered with the images of different political parties’ symbols and demand for such things is growing by the day.
Interestingly, most manufacturers in cities in UP and shopkeepers in cities such as Delhi, Dehradun, Ludhiana and Patiala said they have stocked fancy cannons and colours as cadres of political parties contact them with bulk orders.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.