Striking a chord: Parties sing their way into minds of voters
Tune in to any radio frequency and you are greeted by a bevy of engaging jingles. These spots are well-scripted and urge you to vote while subtly pointing to the mistakes of the rivals. Some even come across as melodious and don’t be surprised if you find yourself humming them as you have just entered the combative world of radio campaign.
Most of the key parties in this civic election are making maximum use of radio jingles to reach out to the electorate.
The BJP has launched over six jingles, including a song sung and written by the party’s Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari. Most of these jingles slam the Congress and AAP for their alleged failure in weeding out corruption.
Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj Abhiyan has kept its jingles short and catchy. The Congress jingles glorify the days when the party was in power, claiming that no development has taken place since then. However, AAP, that had used radio aggressively in the Assembly elections, seems missing from the race.
The BJP, which is facing a stiff competition, seems to be banking on the Modi wave to balance its 10-year-old anti-incumbency.
Under criticism for poor work in sanitation and unauthorised constructions, their campaign does not talk about achievements but about the new faces that have been fielded this time. “Naye chehre, nayi urja, nayi udaan, Dilli mange kamal nishan. Kamal ka button dabaiye, Narendra Modi ji ki sapno ki dilli banaiye,” the BJP jingle urges. “Jisne Jeb pe daka dala usko sabak sikhana hai, jhute waden walon se apni dilli ko bachana hai.” it says.
The party has also picked up a dialogue from Bollywood film Gangs of Wasseypur. “Tumpe vishwas kiya. Ab nai. Tumse na ho payega. Modi so hoga,” it says. “That line was chosen because the movie’s story is based in (undivided) Bihar. This jingle will make an instant connect with people from Hindi speaking areas,” an insider said.
Explaining the campaign strategy, a BJP spokesperson said their main agenda is to expose Kejriwal’s false promises. “It is a campaign against the Congress and AAP. Apart from these jingles we will also launch 30-second videos on cable TV and YouTube,” he said.
Another prominent campaign on radio is that of Yogendra Yadav’s Swaraj Abhiyan that is making its electoral debut this time. It has launched its “seeti bajao” campaign, that sets the tone for them in Delhi. In their jingles that begin with a whistle, Yadav makes an emotional appeal for support. The jingles take a dig at other political parties for their false claims, inefficiency, and corruption.
“Humare pass koi sarkar nai hai, hoarding aur TV add ka paisa bhi nai hai, lekin sach hai, saaf dil hai or dilli ke liye plan hai,” the jingle says. Another one says: “Yeh sadak pe khade badmash ki seeti nai hai, refree ki whistle hai, chowkidaar ki seeti hai, Swaraj India ki yeh whistle bhrashtachaar ko bhagayegi, janta ko jagayegi,” the jingle says.
Taking a dig at the present state of MCDs in the radio campaign, Yogendra Yadav talks about how people have started calling MCD the ‘Maha Corrupt Department’ or ‘Malaria Chikungunya Dengue’. However, he adds that for Swaraj India, MCD means ‘My Clean Delhi’. In the campaign, he explains how he has a plan for Delhi and how the ‘Whistle’ of Swaraj India will drive away corruption and raise awareness,” Swaraj India spokesperson Anupam said.
Hoping to make a comeback in the civic bodies this time, the Congress released a song that reminisces the days when they were in power in the Capital. Their jingle stresses on how Delhi was corruption free and no development has taken place since its exit.
“Sabko leke sath chalenge, vade nai vikas karenge, duniya mein mashoor thi Dilli, bhrashtachar se door thi Dill, jan jan ka guroor thi Dilli. Congress ko layenge, khushhal Dilli banayege. Phir se isko jagmagana hai, Congress phir se lana hai,” the jingle says. It takes a dig at the AAP government. “Toot gayi vikas ki dor, ab aao Congress ki or,” it adds.
The AAP, that led an aggressive campaign on radio, has stuck to interactive voice responses, that has CM Kejriwal telling people about how their electricity and water bills were slashed by their government and why they should they be voted in power in the municipalities as well.