Top political leaders across the spectrum have busied themselves with a whirlwind tour of Himachal Pradesh as the Assembly election draws increasingly nearer, holding multiple rallies in a day, releasing songs and waging social media war against rivals. Catchy slogans and targeted campaigns have become increasingly popular as all the parties in the fray look to woo voters.
“Joiya mama sunda nahi,” chant Congress leaders and supporters in an apparent dig at Chief Minister Jairam Thakur. The slogan first gained popularity amid protests calling for the restoration of the old pension scheme, with many asserting that ‘Joiya mama manada nahi, employee ko shunda nahi (roughly translated to ‘Jai Ram Thakur is not obeying, not listening to the employees’)
Not to be outdone, the BJP while is looking to retain power in the state has begun sharing social media posts about ‘Congress ke karname (Congress’ misdeeds)’.
The BJP has also released a campaign song for the poll-bound state: Himachal ki pukar fir BJP ki sarkar. “Naya Riwaaz banayenge, phir BJP layenge,” the ruling party confidently asserts in many social media posts
Himachal Pradesh will go to the polls on November 12, while the counting of the votes will be done on December 8. The BJP released the first list of 62 candidates earlier this month. The state has 68 assembly seats. The BJP won 44 seats in the previous assembly polls while Congress won 21 seats.
