Lok Sabha elections 2024 generate about 9 lakh temporary jobs, say experts; these roles are in demand

The Lok Sabha polls, a mammoth electoral exercise conducted once in five years to elect the central government, usually creates temporary employment opportunities. The pattern is evident in the ongoing 2024 general elections as well, as experts estimate the generation of around 9 lakh interim jobs.

"The exact number of temporary jobs created during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections across the country would depend on various factors such as the scale of the election, the number of polling stations, and the requirements of election-related activities. However, on our platform, we anticipate at least 9 lakh jobs during the elections," WorkIndia CEO and co-founder Nilesh Dungarwal told PTI.

A similar number was shared by TeamLease Services CEO - Staffing, Kartik Narayan, who told the news agency that there are around a million (10 lakh) polling booths in India. Each of the polling booths is expected to employ at least one temporary gig worker, he pointed out.

Also Read: Full schedule of Lok Sabha elections; check phase-wise polling dates

When asked if these temporary jobs affect the job market, he said, the emergence of temporary employment opportunities during elections can transiently influence sectors accustomed to fostering such employment, notably logistics and e-commerce.

Which are the job roles in demand amid Lok Sabha elections?

According to Dungarwal, the following temporary job roles are commonly generated during the polling season: Polling booth officials, election clerks, security personnel, data entry operators, transportation coordinators, and administrative staff.

"During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, job roles that saw a significant increase on our platform were accounting (80 per cent), data entry jobs (64 per cent), security personnel (86 per cent), back office (70 per cent), delivery, drivers, field sales and retail (65 per cent), manual jobs (82 per cent), content writing (67 per cent) among others," he added.

CIEL HR Director and CEO Aditya Narayan Mishra said that over the past six months it is estimated that about 2,00,000 temporary positions have emerged as contestants prepare for the upcoming elections.

These roles span various sectors crucial for election preparation such as data analysis, planning, public relations, market survey, media relations, content design, content marketing, social media marketing, AI strategies and project management, he said.

"As the campaigning activities pick up, for a window of 8-13 weeks, until the end of the polls in the respective constituencies, we expect a huge pick-up of activities for event management, printing, transportation, food and beverages, catering, security, IT network management and analytics. The service providers will hire an estimated 4,00,000 people on a temporary basis for these projects," he added.

Genius Consultants CMD R P Yadav said a significant workforce of over 1,00,000 temporary workers are required during the general elections period, who are needed to handle various tasks including food catering, maintaining vehicles, schedules, managing campaign materials like posters and microphones, and assisting in the construction of meeting podiums and barricades.

Electricians, cleaners, social media campaigners, event managers, content writers, content creators among others are some of the jobs that are in high demand during the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, Yadav said.

How much do the election season workers get paid?

Talking about remuneration for these temporary jobs during the elections, Yadav said, individual workers engaged for specific tasks may earn between Rs 15,000-40,000 based on their role and the scope of work involved.

"Additionally, drivers hired to provide transportation services during the campaign are paid on a per day basis, typically receiving between Rs 5,000-8,000 per day," he added.

The salary paid is higher for jobs that require a high skill set, such as event management, digital marketing, public relations, media analysis and preparing surveys.

So far, the first phase of Lok Sabha polls has concluded. The voting was held on April 19 in 102 constituencies spread across 21 states and Union territories. The final round of voting will be held on June 1, and the counting of votes will be held on June 4.

With PTI inputs