KERALA ELECTION ADVT. BY PARTIES IN SELECTED TRAINS
trivandrum:When the Eranadu Express, carrying the advertisement of LDF on its bogies reached the capital city on Wednesday night after a day-long trip from the other end of the state, it marked a new style of election campaigning in the state. It is for the first time in the state that a political party is using a train to carry its advertisement. With the LDF taking the lead, the UDF and BJP too have joined the poll bandwagon to use railway property for campaigning. Popular trains are much in demand as election frenzy has started picking up. Soon, trains starting from Thiruvanathapuram too will be draped in colours of various political parties....
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Four trains - Vanchinadu Express, Intercity Expresses Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur, Kannur-Alappuzha and Kannur-Ernakulam - will be wrapped in polyvinyl advertisements of political parties. An agreement with regard to advertisement rights was signed between the Trivandrum division of the Railways and advertisers on Wednesday. As the demand for Railways' space has increased during election, the Railways stands to benefit financially.
From the four trains alone, the Railways will be getting Rs 18 lakh and the rest will come from the sale of space in other stations such as Ernakulam and Thrissur. V C Sudeesh, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Trivandrum Division, said the Railways had increased the price, with advertisers considering the demand. For polyvinyl wrapping, the Railways usually gives contract for a three-month period. But now political parties have sought a 45-day contract since polling is on May 16. There are enough takers even when the Railways has doubled the price. The Railways charges around Rs 47,000 per bogie for a month. If Eranadu had just four bogies booked for advertisements, the trains from the capital will have the entire 10 bogies booked for publicity. The Palakkad division, which has granted advertisement rights on Eranadu Express, has given a 10-day contract. This division too has been approached by advertisers for UDF and BJP, an official with the division has said.
Trivandrum division generates an income of Rs 1.5 crore a year by letting out around 21,000 sq ft space on the Trivandrum central railway station premises. Zone 1, consisting of a railway platform and zone 2 consisting of the front portion of the main terminal, had already been booked. But advertisers could not sell it to political parties as the Railways had a specific agreement with them against it. However, zone three, consisting of the second terminal (7,000 sq ft), is still open for takers. If the demand grows, it adds to the revenue of the division.
Trains from TVM division
1 Vanchinadu Express
2 Thiruvananthapuram-Guruvayur Intercity Express
3 Kannur-Alappuzha Intercity Express
4 Kannur-Ernakulam Intercity Express
Trains from Palakkad division
1 Eranandu Express`
2 Coimbatore- mangalore Intercity Express
SOURECE: THE INDIAN EXPRESS