TIRUCHY/MADURAI: This election season, political parties and candidates seem to have set aside the sound and fury of loudspeakers for the quiet appeal of LED screens. Vans and other automobiles fitted with the screens criss-crossed the state, gaining the attention of the electorate to many a party’s poll promises and campaign messages.
Contractors reported a sharp rise in demand for the vehicles, which otherwise are usually hired only during local fairs or shop inauguration, with the rentals nearly double the norm.Typically stationed at high-footfall locations or moving through residential neighbourhoods, the vehicles served as a key campaign tool not only for the Dravidian majors but also new entrants like the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the contractors said.
Apart from vans, autorickshaws and smaller vehicles were also used for campaign promotions. Across Tiruchy city, more than 50 such LED-fitted vans were in operation while various parties used around 30 of them for voter engagement in the rural pockets.
S Raghavendra Prabhu, an LED van contractor, said that most such vehicles remain idle on regular days. “This time, however, all our vans were booked. On normal days, we charge around `5,000 to `6,000 per day, but during election period, rates nearly doubled due to the high demand,” he said. Several election candidates in Tiruchy even struggled to secure vans on rent, he added.
T Alex, another contractor, said that LED-fitted vans were not available in Tiruchy during the 2019 Assembly election and were introduced only during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “Initially, they did not gain much traction, but this election, demand has picked up significantly. Candidates prefer them as they avoid blaring sounds and are visually engaging, without the need for campaigners to address the crowd from the vehicle,” he added. The trend gained momentum in Madurai as well.
Contractor D Saravanan said that LED campaign vehicles did not gain widespread acceptance in the early days of their rollout. “Some advertisers even experimented with LED-fitted bikes, but they did not take off like the vans,” he added.
He, however, stressed that the traditional vehicles fitted with loudspeakers continue to be relevant in rural areas such as in Ramanathapuram and Sivaganga constituencies. “While three-sided LED vans are in high demand, single-sided display vehicles have not performed as well. The surge in demand has largely been in the last 10 days of the campaign,” he said.
Meanwhile, L Kathick, a resident of Cantonment in Tiruchy, said the LED vans were less intrusive compared to the conventional vehicles fitted with loudspeakers. “There is no constant noise, and you can still see the message clearly when you pass by,” he said.