The colorful trucks that once dotted Pakistan’s roads and highways with paintings of political leaders before the elections have disappeared this voting season, replaced by prints on posters and banners.

Kaleidoscopic floral murals, Islamic patterns, calligraphy, snow-capped Himalayan peaks, local mosques and popular characters are some of the famous examples of Pakistani truck art.

Before printed posters became common, truck paintings of leaders, especially in the run-up to elections, were a highly sought-after campaign medium.

“We had good business during the past elections, but people stopped coming to us,” said Shakeel Ahmad, who has been painting trucks in Peshawar for the past 18 years.

This city in northwestern Pakistan is one of the country’s major centers for the art form.

“Throughout the entire campaign, only one vehicle was brought to us to paint Imran Khan’s painting, and then no one came to us,” he said.

Paintings of former Prime Minister Imran Khan can still be seen on some trucks despite a court banning the jailed popular leader from holding political office last year.

Ahmed said painters are now limited to regular truck art and business has been hurt by rising prices.

The South Asian nation is struggling with an economic crisis, with inflation approaching 30%, a weak currency, rising costs of living and political uncertainty dulling a once-buoyant election campaign.

But there are some exceptions, such as truck driver Zaffar Ali who drove hundreds of miles (km) to his home province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the north to paint Nawaz Sharif on his truck Sharif’s portrait.

Analysts say three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is the front-runner for Thursday’s election, with the Supreme Court recently overturning his corruption conviction and lifetime ban from politics.

“Nawaz Sharif was charismatic and did a lot for the country,” Ali said. “When he was prime minister, people found jobs easily and the prices of petrol and diesel were lower. Now, we have nothing. “

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, a member of a family that has served two terms as prime minister of Pakistan, also participated in the election.

“I would love to paint Bilawal, but unfortunately I haven’t painted any image of him on a truck so far,” said Sohail Ghuri, who has been creating truck art for the past 15 years and enjoys photographing political leaders portrait.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)