The transformation is stark. A 27-year-old rapper who is otherwise known for his nerve-ticking lyrics full of swagger, at times not taken well by many, including the law, seeking votes with folded hands and bowing to anybody whom he finds elder to him. Congress nominee from Mansa segment Shubhdeep Singh, aka Sidhu Moosewala, who is fighting his debut election already knows well what works in electoral politics as he announces: “I am the only Sikh face among the key constants in the fray”.
Addressing a series of election meetings in Bhikhi block on Wednesday, the rapper says: “I have the suffix of Singh and am the only one (among rivals) who wears a turban. I am not a leader but ‘pindan da jawak’ (village boy). I came back from Canada as I wanted to work for my own people in villages.”
He has been pitted against Dr Vijay Singla of the Aam Aadmi Party, Prem Kumar of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Jiwan Dass of the Punjab Lok Congress (PLC). Moosewala, who joined Congress in December, was chosen over sitting legislator Nazar Singh Manshahia, Youth Congress leader Chushpinder Singh Chahal and former party MLA Mangat Rai Bansal amid widespread opposition.
Moosewala has the largest fan following among the Punjabi singers on social media platforms. To a question, Moosewala says he is working on a plan how he would balance his professional and political life if elected as an MLA.
As per the election documents, he is facing four criminal cases: Two for allegedly singing obscene songs, and as many for violating curfew during the Covid-induced lockdown.
{{/usCountry}}As per the election documents, he is facing four criminal cases: Two for allegedly singing obscene songs, and as many for violating curfew during the Covid-induced lockdown.
{{/usCountry}}Encashing popularity
He was to meet electors at Khiwa Khurd village at 1pm on Wednesday but reached two hours late. Attired in denim and sneakers, the first thing he does is seeking apology from the gathering at a community centre for being late. He was given a rousing reception by the villagers.
“Today I am the most popular and recognised Punjabi singer in the world and the credit goes to my admirers. It is painful to see that Mansa is still the most backward part of Punjab. Respective elected representatives failed to bring any change here. We need to change the leaders not the political parties,” he says.
“It is for the first time that a party has fielded a young candidate from Mansa who has no political background. The CM is just a phone call away and I can ensure development of the area if you elect me. If you will disappoint me, I will have to go back to my profession full time,” he says.
Protected by armed Punjab Police personnel, the performer travels with his close aides in a battery of SUVs. “Punjab has produced hundreds of singers but no one is as well-known as I am. Gurdas Maan may be famous but no one knows about his village or his parents. Whereas my family is a celebrity already; this is my achievement at this age,” he declares.
Countering AAP
Bhikhi block, where he spent the day, was a hotbed of the AAP in the 2017 elections. At every meeting, he talked about the sexual assault on a young woman in Delhi on January 26 to target the AAP. “A ‘Sikhan di kudi’ was abducted, gang-raped and paraded naked in the streets of Delhi. Do you want this kind of Delhi model of the AAP in Punjab too?,” he says with hardly any response from the gathering. He also claimed that the victim died by suicide after the incident, something which the Delhi Police has already termed fake news.
On healthcare and clean administration
Moosewala passionately highlights the chemicals impact on human health. “Cancer is spreading but there is no hospital in or around Mansa to treat such patients. Out of 62 villages in my constituency I covered in the last few days, only residents of Joga village raised the demand for better medical facilities,” he says.
Mansa’s adjoining Bathinda district has an Advanced Cancer Institute, a state-run facility. Another government institute Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGMCH) in Faridkot has a dedicated cancer treatment facility.
At Heron Kalan, Moosewala said only the affluent should contest elections. “If a candidate spends on electioneering from his pocket, he or she will recover the cost by indulging in corruption,” he reasons, while proclaiming himself an “upright sarpanch” of his native Musa village. However, official data shows his mother Charan Kaur as the village head and not him.
“I am successfully working as sarpanch. Residents of my village can vouch for my integrity. There has not been irregularity of a single penny. You should elect me as I am a popular and committed,” he says at Samaon village, while taking credit for the government’s recent decision to make Bhikhi a subdivision in the district.
As it was getting dark, he obliges the villagers and sings a song, “Maa”, that was well received by those who had gathered under a banyan tree.