Wearing on the sleeve: Parties get creative with trendy merchandise to woo Delhi voters

NEW DELHI: Delhi is in the midst of an intense election season and political workers are flaunting their allegiances, sporting creatively designed merchandise with quirky catchphrases and one-liners to attract voters's imagination.

The Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP, the Congress and other smaller players, all are trying to outdo each other as merchandise messaging gets sharper, wittier and personal in appeal.

There are winter-friendly hoodies and colorful stoles, t-shirts and scarfs, funky sunglasses and key chains, custom-made car flags and cutouts, pens and posters, and even mousepads. Anything that can be leveraged is being leveraged.

"These unique items, adorned with party logos and slogans, are not just tools of promotion but also a way to engage supporters in a more personal and vibrant manner," said a leader.

The Aam Aadmi Party's hoodies and stoles come in their signature blue and yellow.

"These feature the face of party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on the front and the party logo on the back, instantly making them stand out," said Vikram, a key supplier of political merchandise, based in Sadar Bazar.

The AAP has also ordered customised accessories like keychains, wristbands, badges, and car flags.

"We have prepared bundles of 2,000 to 2,500 large flags and 5,000 smaller ones to meet rally demands," Vikram added. The price of flags varies based on the material and sizes, starting from as low as Rs 2.5 and going up to Rs 165 per piece.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has infused a dash of quirkiness into its campaign.

"Funky orange sunglasses with the party name written in white are making waves and the party has also ordered T-shirts featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image, with an option for people to customise them with their own pictures," he said.

The Congress party is opting for utility items. They have placed large orders for mousepads, pens, and keychains carrying party symbol, said the seller.

The demand for political merchandise has soared in the past few weeks, with suppliers reporting a 60 percent surge. "Election season is our busiest time. The creativity and variety in campaign items this year have been exceptional," said Anil Seth, another merchandise supplier from Sadar Bazar.

Seth added that for nominations and rallies, people are purchasing political party's scarfs, garlands, flags and more.

During election time, items like t-shirts, caps, posters, banners, party symbol cutouts, and leaders' face cut-outs are usually in high demand for rallies, he said.

Delhi is scheduled to vote on February 5 and the results will be announced on February 8.