E-Paper
E(lection)-greetings take over virtual world
Want to enjoy the fisticuffs between Rahul and Varun? Just log on to some of the e-greetings sites to catch the latest spoof on polls.
Election or political greetings have literally taken the virtual world by storm as e-greeting portals make the most out of excitement surrounding general election, the world's largest democratic exercise.
From allowing users to throw virtual eggs at poll candidates to expressing support for a political party, the e-greetings have it all.
The most popular is the card that features Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi ducking eggs thrown by users surfing Bharathgreetings.com, an Indian portal hosted in the US.
Unlike the real world, where candidates go all out to ensure victory by a huge margin, the candidate who gets the most number of hits is the loser.
"The eggs invariably miss the mark and land on the one you support," said 18-year-old Vidya Subramanian. Though eligible to vote, she is yet to register herself as a voter with the Election Commission.
"Till such time I get my vote, I suppose I can make do with this," she said as she hurtled eggs before forwarding the electronic card to her long list of friends from a cyber café in New Delhi.
While "I am with BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), are you?" or "I am with Congress, are you?" are the other popular greetings on the site, dairy products major Amul has come out with greetings that spoof the entry of film and television stars into politics.
Kyunki Neta Bhi Abhineta Thhe! goes a card in Amulgreetings.com, a light-hearted lampoon on the entry of Irani Smriti Jabin, who plays the highly popular character Tulsi in the soap opera Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi.
And the minds behind the political cards have not missed the family that has ruled India for most of its 56 years of independence.
Pari-War or family war as the name suggests takes a dig at the long-running feud between the family of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her sister-in-law Maneka Gandhi, now a member of the BJP.
The card shows Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul engaged in a fisticuff with his first cousin Feroz Varun, son of Maneka.
Rahul is the Congress candidate for the Amethi Lok Sabha seat, once represented by Varun's late father Sanjay Gandhi. Varun is yet to take the electoral plunge.
