UP assembly elections 2022: Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party has launched a campaign song
Designed after the "Khela Hobe" campaign song of Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, the Akhilesh Yadav-led opposition alliance has been singing its own "Khadeda Hoibe" (will be chased away) poll jingle in Uttar Pradesh.
Based on the local dialect prevalent in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, the song, which was launched recently, has been doing the rounds on social media and is being played at political events of the opposition grouping in its fight against the ruling BJP.
"The people of Uttar Pradesh are themselves saying that there will be a 'Khadeda Hoibe' (will be chased out) for the BJP, and at some places in the state its (the BJP's) people are being actually being chased away by angry voters," Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha said.
"The 'Khadeda Hoibe' battle cry is uniting people from different sections of society and from various walks of life. The template of Bengal (assembly elections) is significantly resonating with the people in Uttar Pradesh," Mr Sinha said.
Ms Banerjee, who defeated the BJP in the assembly polls in her state last year, is batting for the Samajwadi Party in the battle for Uttar Pradesh. When contacted, lyricist and singer of 'Khela Hobe' (game on) jingle, Debangshu Bhattacharya, said the political condition and fight at the two places are of different types.
"At one place (in Bengal), it was to bring back the ruling party, while at the other place (Uttar Pradesh), it is about removing the ruling party," he told.
He said the BJP's rivals in West Bengal didn't have any counter to the party's "Jai Shri Ram" chant which they were using for political purposes. "If someone tried to stop them, then they will show that they have problem with the name of the God and this also would help them in polarisation of votes," Mr Bhattacharya said.
"After coining 'Khela Hobe', if the BJP workers raised 'Jai Shri Ram', the TMC workers would say 'Khela Hobe'. And, the public evinced more interest in the latter," he said.
The 'Khadeda Hoibe' poll jingle would also be a strong counter to the BJP's "religious polarization tactics", said Mr Bhattacharya, who is also the general secretary of Trinamool Congress's youth unit.