Punjabi songs add spice to Canada poll campaign
MUKTSAR : If you think the use of Punjabi songs in election campaign is confined to Punjab only, you are mistaken. Punjabi numbers have been adding spice to the campaign in Canada’s federal polls, scheduled for October 21.
A song titled ‘Yaad Rakhio’ is getting popular on the social media. Penned and sung by Goggi Dhaliwal, the three-minute song is being used by Punjaborigin supporters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a Liberal Party leader, to boost his campaign.
“Fer aauga Trudeau tusin yaad rakhio (Remember, Trudeau will emerge victorious again),” is the refrain of the song. It has got 46,000 views on YouTube. While 375 people have
‘FER AAUGA TRUDEAU TUSIN YAAD RAKHIO’ IS THE REFRAIN OF A SONG WHICH HAS BEEN VIEWED 46,000 TIMES ON YOUTUBE
liked the song, 17 have disliked it.
Hailing the migration policies of Trudeau, the song goes on, “Jinne wasde Canada ch Punjabi veerio, kade gun na bhulaio oye Punjabi heerio”.
Notably, a large number of people from Punjab migrated to Canada, thanks to favourable migration policy of the Canadian government.
“Aitki di vote Gill bai ji nu pauni a, ral mil aapa NDP jitauni hai. (We will vote for Gill this time to ensure the victory of NDP) are the lines of a song, crooned by singer Sam Sidhu. The lyricist is Nanji Dhaliwal.
The four-minute song, which urges people to vote for Harjit Singh Gill, a New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate from Surrey Newton constituency, has also gone viral on social media. In the song, the policies of the NDP have also been hailed. The NDP is led by Punjab-origin leader Jagmeet Singh.
These songs are being widely shared by the public on social media platforms.
However, there are also some detractors of this new trend among the Punjabi diaspora. “In the past, there had been no such tactics in Canada. The elections in Canada were contested on the basis of public issues. This trend of glorifying the individuals is not a good omen,” says Harpal Singh from Canada in a Facebook comment.