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From street plays to road shows, anything to woo voters
All political parties are trying their hand at something different to woo the voters, reports Ketaki Ghoge.
Don’t be too surprised if your radio channel sings 'Shiv Sena, Shiv Sena’ refrain on their 10 seconds slot.
You may come across street plays by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in colloquial city lingo targeting civic administration ruled by saffron alliance in your locality. You may even come across mobile bus exhibition of political parties.
It’s just the civic polls fervour.
As the campaigning for civic election gains momentum, all political parties are trying their hand at something different to woo the voters.
For instance the Shiv Sena is playing a key refrain from their election song – sung by well-known music remix artist Awdut Gupte – across seven radio channels including Radio Mirchi and Red.
"The idea is to reach out to youngsters, professionals, who may be too busy to really notice campaigning of the streets," said Neelam Gorhe, Sena spokesperson.
Interestingly, the song refrain points out that the saffron party known for its hard line approach does not identify itself on basis of religion or caste but is dedicated to larger community of citizens.
Apart from street plays, NCP has also planned a road show by its Chief Sharad Pawar in Thane on January 26. Pawar will hit Thane roads from three to four hours in a gypsy just waving out to residents.
"We cannot hold public rallies on January 26. Some young members of my party from Thane came up with the idea of a road show. So, I am likely to go to Thane on Saturday," Pawar told reporters in a meeting recently.
NCP leaders think Pawar has star value among young voters considering his position as Board of Control for Cricket in India president who is now making a bid for the top post in International Cricket Council.
Raj Thackeray, who always showed innovative event management skills, has personally prepared a print and audio campaign for his party. Playback singer Shankar Mahadevan has sung MNS’s campaign songs.
For its print campaign, the MNS will use Raj Thackeray as its brand. "Thackeray will be directly addressing voters in our campaign," said MNS spokesman Shirish Parkar.
