Parties field tableaux in Delhi to do the trick at hustings

In Delhi, ruling Congress and Opposition BJP are engaged in a battle of tableaux to lure voters and if numbers matter then BJP has won it.

As they endeavour to capture power in Delhi in the December 1 assembly elections, ruling Congress and Opposition BJP are engaged in a battle of tableaux to lure voters and if numbers matter then BJP has won it.

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BJP has prepared four types of tableaux, each for all the 70 constituencies, through which it highlights "misrule" of the Congress. But the ruling party has deployed a huge inflated rubber replica of Metro train as a symbol of Sheila Dikshit Government's developmental works.

One BJP tableau depicts the Government's "failure" in checking the outbreak of dengue recently, two display problems in power sector while the fourth showcases the infamous Tandoor murder case in which a former Delhi Youth Congress leader killed his wife, chopped her into pieces and tried to burn her in an oven.

"Jo machchar nahi maar sakte, woh raj kya karenge (what kind of rule will be provided by those who cannot kill mosquitoes)," shouts a banner atop a tableau on dengue showing a replica of Aedes mosquito.

An accompanying tableau shows a large oven with two artificial women's legs emerging out is meant to remind people about the 1994 incident in which Youth Congress leader Sushil Sharma was held while trying to burn the body of his wife Naina Sahani after killing her.

"Mangte hain Congressi bar bar satta, jis se kar sake khulkar hatya (Congressmen want power again and again to facilitate them to indulge in killings)," says the banner perched atop the tableau.

"Jinhone in par vishwas kiya, un par hi Congressiyon ne aghaat kiya (Congressmen have stabbed those who reposed trust in them)," adds a supplementary banner referring to Naina Sahani who was a member of Congress.

Highlighting the Congress Government's "failures" on power and water fronts, a tableau shows darkness with the accompanying slogan saying "bijli chahiye, generator lao, paani chahiye, khud mangwao aur vote mujhe dekar apne jarooratoon ko bhool jao (If you want power, get the generator, if you want water, manage it on your own and vote for me and forget about your needs)."

On power privatisation, yet another tableau depicts an electricity meter along with a slogan "kabhi tez bhagte meter to kabhi galat bill ke sang, Congress ke thekedaron ne lootne ke nikale naye naye dhang (Sometimes fast meters, sometimes wrong readings, Congress' contractors have evolved new ways of looting people)."

Congress, which is trying to retain power, has its own way of saying things through the of Metro train replica.

The inflatable 60-feet grey-coloured train, currently making rounds of all the constituencies of Delhi, has been fielded as a symbol of Government's developmental works.

"The train is a symbol of modern society and depicts the solidity of the Congress that brought the Metro to Delhi," sums up a Congress leader.