Fashion with a mission

Clad in white kurtas and blue denims, and crooning Saadda Haq Aithe Rakh, a popular song from the recent Bollywood movie Rockstar, a group of 25 youngsters has been making the rounds of houses in east Delhi’s Preet Vihar. Makeover

Clad in white kurtas and blue denims, and crooning Saadda Haq Aithe Rakh, a popular song from the recent Bollywood movie Rockstar, a group of 25 youngsters has been making the rounds of houses in east Delhi’s Preet Vihar.

Deepak-Gupta-centre-a-Lok-Satta-party-candidate-and-his-gang-of-kurta-and-denim-clad-campaigners-distribute-pamphlets-at-the-B-block-Preet-Vihar-Park-in-east-Delhi-Sonu-Mehta-HT-photo

You may easily confuse them with members of a dramatic society performing a street play. But these youngsters are on a much graver assignment.

They are campaigning for candidates who will contest the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections. One such candidate is Deepak Gupta, who is contesting from Preet Vihar on Lok Satta party’s ticket.

To set them apart from other groups of campaigners, Gupta has asked them to wear a uniform — white kurta and blue denims — so voters can spot them even in a crowd.

The group of young men is asking residents of Preet Vihar to vote for a corruption-free candidate. “We are against corruption and this is one of the most important factors for us. Gupta’s party manifesto is also about choosing a candidate who is honest and will work for the society. Our views and their agenda are the same, so we are campaigning for him,” said Vikram Chauhan, 24, who has been campaigning for Gupta for the past few days.

“The uniform is just a way of differentiating ourselves from other campaigners, who believe in luring people with alcohol and other freebies,” he added.

Gupta has filed his nomination and once he is allotted a symbol by the State Election Commission he will start campaigning on a bigger scale. “The motive of our party is very clear. We want community participation and a corruption-free society. This is the first time I am contesting the MCD elections, and I have faith in the people of the area,” said Gupta.

Other candidates from the Congress and BJP are also trying to woo voters by adopting newer ways of campaigning. Mahender Nagpal, the BJP councillor from Wazirpur, has asked his campaigners, especially the young lot, to include orange colour in their attire.

“I have told my supporters to wear anything they want. But I’ve asked them to include orange in their attire. This way, whenever we go out to campaign, people will be able to spot us from far away,” said Nagpal.

Another candidate, Rekha Gupta from Pitampura (north) has asked her supporters and campaigners to discard the traditional khadi and go for more casual clothing. “I want to do away with the stereotype of politicians wearing white kurtas. I’ve told my supporters to wear casual clothes,” she said.

But there are still some who are not ditching just yet.

“Khadi kurta and pyjama has become my identity and that is what I am going to wear while campaigning,” said Jai Kishan Sharma, who is contesting from Najafgarh.