FILMS, FASHION: NEW TRICKS ON MP POLL TRAIL

: Events featuring Bollywood stars, a marathon in Gwalior, a fashion show, self-defence camps in Indore and Ujjain, poetry events (kavi sammelan and mushaiyra) in Bhopal and a folk dance festival in Bundelkhand -- political parties in Madhya Pradesh are going all out to woo young voters.

According to chief electoral officer’s office in Madhya Pradesh, 56.09 % of the 50.3 million voters in the state are in the age group of 18 to 39 years.

A new political party Jay Adivasi Yuva Sangthan (JAYS) invited film star Govinda to address voters. Now, the party plans to bring actor, Mithun Chakraborty for its next event.

Vyapam whistle-blower Anand Rai, who joined JAYS recently, said, “If JAYS comes to power, movies of Govinda will be declared tax free so that people in rural area can get entertainment at much lower cost.” This , he said, will take care of “people’s need for entertainment”. Rai was responsible for shining the light on the controversy surrounding the body organising admission tests for everything from medical college admissions to some government jobs (popularly known by its Hindi acronym, Vyapam).

But it isn’t just talks featuring Bollywood stars; in Khandwa, BJP MLA from Mandhata, Lokendra Singh Tomar celebrated the anniversary of the Beed-Khandwa shuttle train last week with young voters with a cake and a speech; and Congress leader from Bhopal, Govind Goyal has so far organised a fashion show, mushaiyra and a wrestling competition. “We can’t ignore the young ,” he said.

Several BJP MLAs in the race for party tickets have launched Apps to woo young voters. Among these are cooperative minister Vishwas Sarang, parliamentary affairs minister Narottam Mishra, MLA Rameshwar Sharma and former Bhopal mayor, Bhopal Krishna Gour.

“It is necessary for us to explain our work and convey our messages to them so we are doing this with help of sports events, technology and other events for youngsters,” said Sarang.