Patna, June 30: Autorickshaw rears are the new battleground for poster wars among political foes.
Posters have been put on over 21,000 autorickshaws across the city pushing the political campaign on wheels.
The dates for the Assembly election are yet to be declared but it has fanned the flames of competition among the party workers on who can fill up as many autorickshaw rears as possible before the elections.
"In this jostling for poster space, the sufferers are the autorickshaw drivers. They are underpaid. The monthly rental for putting up posters behind the autorickshaws varies between Rs 100 and Rs 200, which is negotiable. But the autorickshaw driver is only paid Rs 20 per month as rental for posters put up by the political parties," said Raj Kumar Jha, the general secretary of Bihar State Auto Chalak Sangh.
But as they say everything is fair in war the autorickshaw drivers are not in a position to negotiate.
"The agencies or party workers who approach us, throw names of political leaders and force us to agree on whatever amount they decide. It seems there is competition between the two parties on who will pay us less. There are a few posters of the BJP for which we have been paid only Rs 10. Some are for free," said Gautam Kumar (22), an autorickshaw driver.
Autorickshaw advertisement is the cheapest out-of-home medium of publicity.
"It is the cheapest and the quickest way of getting recognised. There are over 21,000 autorickshaws commuting across the city. The advertisement reaches the maximum target. The parties these days emphasise on autorickshaw advertisement. We give them a quotation, which they cut it to less than a half of the total cost," said Kaushal Kishore, the director of Click advertisement.
The autorickshaw advertisement doesn't have a fix modus operandi.
"Four to five people from the party approach us for the poster fixation. They are in regular touch with the in-charge of the auto stands and get in touch with us through them. The amount is already fixed. They maintain a record of the advertisement, name of the driver, vehicle number, date of poster fixing and the amount," said Mukesh Kumar (30), an autorickshaw driver.
When The Telegraph tried to speak with the party leaders they tried to avoid responsibilities.
"I am not responsible for advertisements. Sanjay Kumar is looking after the autorickshaw advertisements," said Neeraj Kumar, a JDU spokesperson.
Sanjay Kumar, a senior leader of the JDU, denied that any such responsibility has been bestowed upon him. "The party leaders and the office-bearers are looking after the advertisement and its cost," said Sanjay Kumar, a JDU MLC.
The same was the case with the BJP.
Prem Ranjan Patel, the state spokesperson of the BJP, said: "I don't know how much we pay to the autorickshaw drivers. The advertisement agency takes care of the payment."
