THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The sale of election merchandise, from caps to T-shirts, has gained momentum as the state goes into election heat. With all the parties almost confirming their candidates, the dealers await bulk orders of more personalised merchandise soon.
Mathachan, a T-shirt and jersey dealer who takes bulk orders for printed T-shirts, said, “During elections, cheaper T-shirts are preferred. It is mainly used for squad work. Each shirt will cost around `80 and then we print the symbols or names as the clients prefer. I have already received many enquiries and by the end of this week, I am expecting the orders. As it is the Lok Sabha elections, we will receive orders from various regions. During the Assembly polls, the orders went up to 4,000 from constituencies. Obviously, we expect more during this election. We can also print the face of the candidates now which will definitely bring in more buyers,” he said.
This merchandise is also sold online. However, the general themes used in these T-shirts do not attract much buyers. ‘Namo Again’ and ‘This time for Raga’ are the themes on T-shirts available online. Caps and mugs of the same themes are also available. There are also merchandise with the various party symbols on sale.
Faridabad-based Mugshug is one such seller of election merchandise online. Deepak Shreshta, its owner, feels the online sales might never pick up on that front as they are retailers. “We do give interesting themes. We did receive bulk orders during the last election from Telangana. It is mostly the wholesale dealers that the clients prefer,” he said.
The sale of merchandise like the caps, flags and stickers of the party symbols meanwhile, has picked up. “I sell caps and stickers more. Some were on stock from the last elections. New stock will arrive soon,” said Augustine, a shop owner in Thiruvananthapuram selling election merchandise.