Mangalgaur competitions emerge as new political battlefield to woo women voters

Shiv Sena UBT and BJP in Mumbai are organizing competitions of 'Mangalgaur', a festival celebrated by newly married women, to woo women voters. The idea has been inspired by the success of the Marathi film 'Baipan Bhari Deva', which revolves around a Mangalgaur competition. The parties are offering cash prizes and sarees to the winners. The next festival targeted by the parties is Dahi Handi. These events are seen as political campaigns to attract women voters, who make up around 50% of the electorate.

Strap: To cash in on buzz created by Marathi film ‘Baipan Bhari Deva’, both Sena UBT and BJP announce contests with big cash reward and Paithani among prizes

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Mumbai: This Shravan (the fifth month of the Hindu calendar), when politicians use festivals to woo women voters, a Marathi sleeper hit film has unwittingly created a new political battlefield — organising competitions of ‘Mangalgaur’.

Mangalgaur is a festival in which newly married women pray to goddess Gauri and celebrate with song and dance performances.

The politicians are taking a cue from the recent hit film ‘Baipan Bhari Deva’, which is about six sisters participating in a Mangalagaur competition and winning a huge prize. The film has collected over ₹80 crore and is extremely popular among women.

To cash in on the buzz created by the movie, the political parties have announced their own competitions of Mangalgaur.

It is, however, the cash prize on offer where the rivalry is reflected. While one party has announced cash prize running into lakhs of rupees, the other is offering ‘Paithani’ (a variety of saree) to the best dancer.

The Shiv Sena UBT was the first to announce Mangalgaur competition at Girgaon with a prize money of ₹11,000 for the winner.

Not to be left behind, the Mumbai BJP quickly announced its own Mangalagaur competition but raised the stakes by offering a prize money of ₹3.51 lakh for the winner.

The next festival that the political parties are aiming at is Dahi Handi, which will be celebrated on September 7. The leaders, who are known to organise the event on a grand scale, said that at present, practice sessions are going on and all other decisions like the announcement of prize money etc will be decided later.

The Shahkha No. 222 of Shiv Sena (UBT) had announced that the ‘Mangalagaur’ event will be held at Sahitya Sangh auditorium in Girgaon on August 13. More than 150 women, in groups, are expected to participate in the competition.

“We declared the competition a few days back. Around 150 women are expected to participate in groups. We have announced a prize money of ₹11,000 for the winner and ₹8,000 and ₹5,000 for the second and third prize winners respectively,” said Pandurang Sakpal, a senior leader from the Thackeray faction of Sena.

“We will also select the best dancer from each team and give ‘Paithani’ to her. Each participant will get a pack of utensils as a gift. Actress Pooja Sawant will be present as the chief guest,” he added.

Sakpal said that Shiv Sena (UBT) has been conducting activities for women and this Mangalagaur competition is a part of that. Sena’s women wing, Mahila Aghadi, regularly organises “haldi-kunku” get-together events for women ahead of elections.

Not to be left behind, the Mumbai BJP on Wednesday announced a similar competition albeit on a larger scale with a cash reward of ₹3.51 lakh for the first prize winner.

“The BJP is a party that has always nurtured and cultivated Hindu festivals. We want to make sure that the next generation comes to know about the games played by the earlier generations and about our rich traditions. There will be a first prize of ₹3.51 lakh,” said Ashish Shelar, president of Mumbai BJP.

“A maximum of 14 women contestants can form a group to participate in this competition. Each group will get about 10 to 12 minutes for their presentation. Marathi traditional attire will be mandatory for the competition. The screening rounds will be held between August 19 and September 2, and the finals will take place on September 3,” added Shelar.

Though the political parties refer to them as cultural events, their leaders accept that they are more of political campaigns and are important for them to woo women voters who form around 50% of the total electorate.

“Women like to participate in such events and want to win the prize. Such events work as a medium to get them connected with a political party,” said a Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.