Ecological Footprint of Elections

Chiguru Prashanth Kumar writes:

Election campaigns in India have undergone manifold changes in the past 10 years with the use of new technology. The media plays a key role in moulding public opinion and major political parties leave no stone unturned to attract voters. In addition to the print media, social media today is a major avenue for electioneering. But election campaigns are not just about using the media. Political parties use a variety of other means. Campaigns in the first general elections in 1951 were carried out mostly with handmade posters, cloth banners and paper pamphlets. This continued till the 2004 general elections. A lot of skilled artists, grass-roots workers and the screen-printing industry did good business during elections. The handmade products had a negligible impact on the environment.