Even as the campaigns were affected by a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases and followed restrictions imposed by the Election Commission of India, political parties in Uttar Pradesh did not leave any stone unturned to woo their voters with campaign songs.
These songs are written in various dialects of Uttar Pradesh and some of them are even composed on popular trending songs like Bachpan ka Pyar and Manike Mage Hithe.
A rap song, 'UP mein sab ba' released by Ravi Kishan also unleashed a full-blown Bhojpuri rap war in Uttar Pradesh. The Uttar Pradesh BJP has now released a new promotional song, 'UP mein ee ba' which is an extension of the Ravi Kishan rap and an obvious reply to Neha Singh Rathore's 'UP mein ka ba?' which reminded voters about Covid deaths, the Hathras incident, Lakhimpur Kheri violence and other "failures" of the BJP government.
The newly-released BJP song talks about the law-and-order situation in the state, vaccination for all, construction of roads and highways, among other issues. Earlier, Ravi Kishan, in his song, highlighted that the construction of the Ram temple has started in Ayodhya and took a jibe at Samajwadi Party (SP) President Akhilesh Yadav for his remark that Lord Krishna comes to his dreams.
Although, the custom of resorting to songs during elections is old, with the campaign going virtual due to the Covid pandemic, the competition among parties to grab the attention of voters has only intensified.
While the ruling BJP refers to the party's "Hindutva pride" and the "development" done under the Yogi Adityanath government, the opposition Samajwadi Party echoes the socialist sentiments and the achievements of the previous government led by Akhilesh Yadav.
BJP MPs and Bhojpuri actors Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari have come out with various songs.
Among these, 'damru jab bajega to dekhna nazara kya hoga' -- apparently referring to the damru of lord Shiva - is quite popular while similar songs like 'jo Ram ko laye haye, hum unko layenge' (those who have brought lord Ram, we will bring them to power) and 'mandir banne laga hai, bhagwa rang chadhne laga hai' (construction of temple has begun, saffron colour is on the rise) are testament to BJP leveraging on the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya.
Meanwhile, the SP's songs promise to end all "woes" of the people if it is voted to power while emphasising on how the socialist ideology ensures welfare of all sections of the society.
Some of the songs like 'hunkara', 'janata pukarti hai' (people are calling) and 'jai-jai samajwadi' (hail samajwadi) are all about the work done by the previous SP government and giving hope to the people to solve their problems if it comes to power again.
The theme song of Congress, which claims it is fighting the elections to bring women into mainstream politics, also revolves around them.
Congress's media convener Lalan Kumar said the party's election campaign is being overseen by general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and her thoughts are clearly reflected in the songs.
The AAP, which is contesting on all 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh has released its song 'rajniti ko badalne AAP ayaa hai, pehli baar jhadu chaap aaya hai' (we have come to change politics) written by the party's Bihar cultural cell president Lokesh.
AAP MP and UP in-charge Sanjay Singh said the song is about the party's promise of free electricity, education, unemployment allowance and Rs 1,000 per month.
Singh said, the AAP has formed a minimum of 20 teams in each assembly constituency and party functionaries and workers will use social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to convey the party's message through these songs.
According to political analyst Parvez Ahmed, whether it was the freedom movement or any fight fought for change, songs play a very important role in uniting people.
"In the movements held from time to time, songs have been considered as a very effective medium of conveying the point of view of the people participating in them," he said.
Whether it was the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan movement or any other campaign, songs were used effectively and aggressively on all occasions.
It is human nature to get attracted towards songs and music and this is why songs are crucial even during elections. More often than not, they do the job of getting into the hearts and minds of the voters, he said.The AAP, which is contesting on all 403 seats in Uttar Pradesh has released its song 'rajniti ko badalne AAP ayaa hai, pehli baar jhadu chaap aaya hai' (we have come to change politics) written by the party's Bihar cultural cell president Lokesh.
(With inputs from agencies)
