Karnataka Polls: Parties go all out for vehicles customised for campaigning

With campaigning ahead of the Karnataka Assembly election in full swing, political parties are investing heavily in modified vehicles to add to the campaign buzz.

DH found that parties spend anywhere from several thousand to a few lakh rupees to modify multi-utility vehicles so that they bear party insignia and allow candidates to address people from the vehicles.

One party said it spent about Rs 50,000 on a Mahindra Bolero Camper so that eight to nine people can stand in it at one time. Modifications include a public address system, two speakers, additional lights, safety grilles around the vehicle with additional cushioning to safely accommodate more people, and sidebars for people to stand. Other vehicles such as Isuzu are also used.

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A BJP worker noted that an Isuzu camper was modified just 10 days ago for campaigning, at a cost of about Rs one lakh. It comes with a makeshift stage with three steps for alighting. “We have fixed four speakers, an amplifier, and four lights of 50 volts each. They are all detachable modifications,” said K Ravi, a BJP functionary.

Parties also install additional LED lights and stick the party symbols and the candidates’ photographs on the vehicles.

Most of these modifications come from Telangana and Guntur. Guntur-based Jaya Lakshmi Designers is an automobile dealer popular for these campaign-specific modifications. Though they have supplied to parties campaigning in Karnataka in the past, they have not received any orders this time.

A company representative told DH about the usual demands they receive: speaker systems, lights, structural railing on three sides with a ramp on the fourth side, all reinforced with steel and iron.

“Although we recommend the standard camper because it is easy to modify with prefabricated structures, we take other vehicle requests into consideration too. We also recommend parties to upgrade the vehicles’ suspension systems to bear the weight of people and all modifications,” he said.

These modifications are done at a base price of approximately Rs 4 lakh and take anywhere between five to 15 days to fix. They can also be dismantled. However, the company has noticed that people usually sell these modified vehicles or rent them out after the campaign.