February 23, 1998

Politics is Now Top of the Pops

Ever heard Sushma Swaraj sing? She sang a ditty called Tum to thehre pardesi for MTV's Rock the Vote, part of the regular MTV U programme, as it followed her on the campaign trail. Next, Rajesh Pilot and Margaret Alva were grilled by college kids. How did the channel net staid politicos like Madhavrao Scindia and Kumari Selja too? Also being wooed are Najma Heptullah, L.K. Advani and A.B. Vajpayee. Says veejay Cyrus Broacha: "I guess a group of people, all suited and booted convinced them." Just kidding.

While Morcha mouths the slogan "Hum do hamare sau", Udham Singh is gearing up. In a four-part election series from February 21, Channel V's all-Haryanvi veejay advises wannabes to stay fit: "Jab tane bote ya kursi ke liye ladna pade to sirf apni body hi kaam mein aawe (When you have to fight for votes or power, only your body will come of use)." Just kidding, again. The point, say the channels, is to get youngsters to vote. Ahem.

-- Anna M.M. Vetticad

Enemy's Enemy

Mayawati may face unexpected problems in Ambedkar Nagar. Local supporters of the SP and the BJP are planning a hush-hush alliance to defeat the BSP's firebrand. During Mayawati's six-month reign as chief minister in 1997, Ambedkar Nagar had more cases registered against upper caste and OBC citizens under the Dalit Act than any other district. Hence the anti-Maya anger. As a district BJP functionary puts it, "We will weigh the prospects of the two candidates -- Triveni Ram of the BJP and L.P. Kannaujia of the SP -- two days before polling and support the one better placed." Should be fun.

-- Subhash Mishra

Handing out Discredit Cards

On election eve, spare a thought for a scheme gone awry. Five years and Rs 100 crore notwithstanding, 36 per cent of India's 600 million voters don't have voter I-cards. The failure has been chronicled in a recent Election Commission (EC) publication. It points out that only 46.57 per cent of all voters had received defect-free I-cards till December 1996. In Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu -- home state of T.N. Seshan, mastermind of the I-card -- not a single defect-free card has been issued.

The EC cites interesting reasons for faltering. In Bihar, where only 15.03 per cent of the voters could be covered, photography teams were robbed by extremists. The story was similar in Tripura, where militants proved an overwhelming opposition. In siesta-happy Goa, people stayed away from the centres despite repeated requests to get photographed. No wonder the EC has deferred completion of Project I-card to the next millennium.

--Sayantan Chakravarty

New Brief

When the BJP announced the candidature of Calcutta's top corporate lawyer Satyabrata "Jolu" Mukherjee, 66, from Krishnanagar, eyebrows were raised. After all, he was an electoral novice. Of course, he's no stranger to the constituency. His country home there is a tourist attraction of sorts -- as an embodiment of the Raj, fine old-style beds and all. Even so, the barrister was expected to be small fry for Ajoy Mukherjee, the CPI(M)'s nominee. Well, Jolu can take heart that his campaign is more visible than the Congress'. On February 5, he even shared the dais with L.K. Advani. Jolu -- who has a British accent and uses a knife and fork for his fish and rice lunch -- has canvassed with clockwork precision. "Campaigns are a great opportunity to know people," he says; and perhaps to reinvigorate a not too oft-used Bengali vocabulary.

-Sumit Mitra

Life's A Parody, Old Chum

Laloo Yadav's used the services of Baleshwar, a pop star in Bhojpuri circles, to launch a cassette offensive -- and that last word is used decidedly. First comes Lalooji pukaare aaja, lalten pe muhar lagaaja (to the tune of Mera dil ye pukaare aaja, an old Hindi classic). The next song is a dig at Sharad Yadav, once Laloo's protege and now his rival in Madhepura. Sung to the tune of Tum to thehre pardesi, its somewhat unorthodox lyrics are: Tum to underwear pahan kar aye the, maine tumhe pyjama pahanaya.

A swift and sharp counter attack has come from the BJP, with a number which parodies the Laloo-Rabri team. To the tune of Main to raste pe ja raha tha, it goes thus. Male voice: Main to paisa bana raha tha, sabko ullu bana raha tha, aur chara bhi kha raha tha. Ab pakda gaya to main kya karoon. The female response: Tere bacche khila rahi thi, sabka khana bana rahi thi, aur ghar bhi chala rahi thi. Ab CM bani to main kya karoon. What next? Baba Sehgal for finance minister -- or Laloo goes to MTV?

- Bharat Desai

Past Imperfect

Mitrasen Yadav, formerly of the CPI and now an SP candidate from Faizabad, was convicted for murder in 1967. His death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and it was only a presidential pardon which saved him. This year, with the EC ostracising convicted candidates, many felt Mitrasen's nomination papers would be rejected. Apparently, the law held since Mitrasen had not been re-convicted within eight years of the pardon and he was free to contest. Talk of luck of the devil.

-Subhash Mishra

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