In poll season, CP comes alive with flash mobs, slogans

New Delhi: From flash mobs, sloganeering and counter-sloganeering by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protests and counter-protests

New Delhi: From flash mobs, sloganeering and counter-sloganeering by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to protests and counter-protests on the amended citizenship law, Central Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) was brimming with political activity on Monday as Delhi goes to polls in five days.

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Starting a ‘buzz campaign’ from the busy commercial hub on Monday, the AAP plunged into the final leg of its campaign for the February 8 election by deploying 100 volunteers in CP. The volunteers, mostly aged between 21 and 35, performed flash mobs, interacted with the shoppers and other visitors and walked around the corridors of CP with a song - ‘haath pe jhaadu, sar pe Gandhi topi, aam aadmi aaye’ playing in their portable speakers.

On finding spaces , the volunteers would suddenly break into a dance on the famous Hindi song ‘Rang De Basanti’. In their six-minute-long performance, the volunteers have also included the AAP’s ‘paanch saal Kejriwal’ rendition which was the party’s official campaign song for the 2015 assembly elections. In each performance, the flash mob groups would end their performance with the ‘lage raho Kejriwal’ song.

Kumar Saurabh, 29, a software engineer, flew in from Hyderabad to help the AAP in its flash mob campaigns. “I came to Delhi on Sunday and will go back on Wednesday as my company granted leaves for only two days,” he said. clarifying that he is not an active member of the AAP.

When asked why he chose to volunteer for the AAP, he said, “This party gives me hope. I feel the AAP at least has some intent to do meaningful work,” he said.

The party also engaged with visitors and distributed pamphlets and ‘aam aadmi caps’ as part of the buzz campaigns. Like Saurabh, Jitesh Bhoir, 30, who runs a business in Mumbai and many other volunteers have taken leave from work and joined the party in its campaign.

At block A, workers of BJP candidate from the New Delhi seat Sunil Yadav were seen convincing people on why one should not vote for chief minister and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal in this election. “His government in Delhi has given dirty water to the people. Dilli ka cancer hai Kejriwal,” said one Umesh Sharma, 40, who identified himself as a social worker.

But, the BJP’s campaign was countered by slogans from AAP workers who shouted lines such as “Kejriwal feviquick ka jod hain, paach saal nahi pachas saal hai.”

Sarvesh Yadav, 25, an AAP worker who came from UP’s Allahabad for the party’s campaign, was heard asking people in the area – “How did you find Kejriwal’s work in the past five years?” The questions that followed after his first question reflected how the AAP is trying to change the opinion of voters on the ongoing alleged polarisation happening in the city because of the anti-CAA protests.

“Do you want to vote for Hindu-Muslim or for education?” he asked.

A few blocks away, another group by the name Rashtriya Hindu Sher Sena was seen shouting slogans in favour of the CAA.