‘Dummy’ polls throw printing business into despair
Al Amin :
Printing and paper merchants are in utter despair over lackluster business in an august season like parliamentary elections, which usually bring a huge smile on the faces of the people involved in the printing industry.
The sector insiders point finger at some causes of this bearish business including non-participatory polls and strict rules and regulations imposed by the Election Commission.
“The usual festive election buzz at print shops was largely missing this time for two reasons – absence of some opposition parties from the upcoming national polls, and rising reliance on social media for campaign,” Md Rabbani Jabbar, Chairman of the Printing Industries Association of Bangladesh (PIAB), told The New Nation on Friday.
As a result, despite an increased number of candidates compared to the last three elections, printing orders have decreased by 30 to 50 per cent this time, he added Owners of the various printings in the city said most independent candidates are placeholders and were not interested in printing many posters or leaflets.
They also blamed digital and social media for election campaigns relying less on printed materials.
The press area of Fakirapool, usually bustling during elections, saw a significant reduction in activity. Instead of election materials, New Year calendars and diaries dominated the printing workload.
Md Junayedullah Al Mahfuz, Senior Vice Chairman of the PIAB and Proprietor of Zara Printers located at Fakirapool, said, “Printing of the number of posters and leaflets has declined this time compared to the previous national polls mainly for non-participatory and higher production cost.”
He also said that the cost of printing of posters and leaflets has doubled compared to the last election time, resulting in the participating candidates being unwilling to place printing orders.
Besides, this election is dominated by independent candidates, who were not interested in additional expense, he added.
Mohammad Anwar Hossain, owner of Fakirapool Coating Printers, said that in past elections with the participation of all parties, there was a surge in activity on symbol allocation day, with parties placing orders in advance.
But, the scenario has been changed in this national election to be held on January 7, he added.
Tofail Khan, former chairman of the Printing Industries Association of Bangladesh, said, “The election is non-participatory and candidates are printing posters just for the sake of it. There is decline in poster usage due to reduced interest in elections.”
The poster market, which was once valued between Tk300 to Tk100 crore annually, has now dropped below Tk100 crore, compared to its peak before 2008.
In the 2018 elections, with 39 participating parties including BNP, printing presses across the country were busy before symbol allocation.
The 2014 elections, marked by the boycott of most parties, including BNP, saw a decreased impact on printing press activities, with only 12 parties contesting and a significant number of candidates winning unopposed.