Poll workers draw blank as ECI sticks to tough norms

This time, the city has been sporting clean walls and the skyline is largely devoid of massive hoardings.

Tamil Nadu Wall Painting Association deputy secretary S Venkatesh said each painter would aim at making over Rs 30,000 per month during election season. “But strict rules, especially during this election, have surely affected them,” he said.

In Chennai alone, there are about 6,000 people involved in wall painting. “About 10,000 are involved in other election-related work like erecting banners and installing scaffoldings,” he said. “Our earnings in the past two elections were also less. That affected us a lot,” SK Gopal, a painter, said.

“Hoardings used to play a vital role during poll campaigns. During earlier polls, many politicians wanted hoardings as they thought it conveyed the message effectively,” Gopal said. The curbs imposed by the poll panel are also impacting caterers, scaffolding workers, artisans, and outdoor advertising agencies, sources said. The State government had recently issued an order directing removal of hoardings which clogged the skyline of Chennai. With this, the painters’ hopes of earning some extra income during the season faded.

Now, the district election office authorities have begun work on clearing political graffiti on compound walls and buildings. With the ECI suggesting that all political parties avoid polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in their campaign material, many in the PVC printing industry have also lost business.