By Rajeev Khanna
Ahmedabad, Dec 12 (IANS) Campaigning in the Gujarat elections might be getting shriller as the second phase of polling is set for Sunday, but there’s lots of music to the voters’ ears.
Both the main parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, have given enough assignments to experts in mixing popular numbers from Bollywood.
A song from the film “Lage Raho Munnabhai” belted out near an election rally is a remix. The original, “Ae bhai hua kya”, is being dished out as “Ae bhai hua kya, ae bhai bolna hua kya, suit silva le, samjho jeet gaya, Bhajap (Gujarati for BJP) jeet gaya.”
The Congress is heavily resorting to its favourite “Chak De ” song. After all, the party’s slogan for the Gujarat elections is: “Chak De Gujarat.”
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One person who reigns supreme when it comes to public contacts is dissident BJP leader and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel.
He is not contesting the election; neither is he campaigning. But a sudden spurt in his reported presence at social gatherings has put the BJP on tenterhooks. There are reports that Keshubhai has now started attending every wedding he is invited to and he meets as many people as he can at these events.
Similarly, he has descended on his home turf in Saurashtra where he is taking “khatlan baithaks” (meeting people while sitting on rustic cots). The grapevine is that these baithaks have a better attendance than many political meetings of the candidates.
What he is telling those he is interacting with is anybody’s guess!
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If it is elections, it is the time to feast. Though no candidate would admit it, the poll arena in Gujarat is witnessing lavish parties being organised by political activists to woo the electorate.
Be it Ahmedabad, Vadodara or the other parts – it is party time in Gujarat. The menu at such parties is mouth watering.
If there is a biryani party in one area, it is the Dal Bati party going on at the other. The “Tava” food, a rage with Gujaratis, adds to the palate.
The electorate has a ball because it is also the wedding season. As a voter said: “It is great to attend parties throughout the day. Have one meal at the wedding where you have been invited and then head for a party organised by political workers for the next meal.”
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The campaign in Gujarat is hi-tech. The most interesting aspect is the mobile warfare between the BJP and the Congress. Within seconds of any major development, the propaganda machinery of the parties get going and bombard the mobile users with SMS messages.
If it was news of Congress president Sonia Gandhi getting a notice from the Election Commission Sunday, it took a few minutes for people on the move to know about it. Similarly, the news of a reported survey by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) was available to mobile users through SMS.
(Rajeev Khanna can be contacted at [email protected])