New Delhi: With Poorvanchalis making up 40 per cent of Delhi’s total electorate and with the might and muscle to sway at least 20 of the 70 Assembly seats in the national capital, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is going all out to woo them with a song and a promise. That in doing so he is directly taking on Bhojpuri film star and MP Manoj Tiwari, who considers Poorvanchalis—the natives of Eastern UP and parts of Bihar — as his strong vote bank, is making this battle exciting. So much so that Mr Kejriwal seems to be swaying to the rhythm of a Bhojpuri song.
On Friday, the chief minister shared a song in a post on the microblogging site, Twitter, with the caption: “A supporter sent me this song... It’s very catchy.”
The song’s tagline is Jhaanse mein nahin ayenge, jhaadu ka button dabayenge (We will not believe in lies, we will press the ‘broom’ button). Broom is AAP’s election symbol.
The singer in the music video repeatedly reminds voters that elections are on February 8 and that each and everyone should go out and vote for AAP.
Sung in a classic Bhojpuri style, the song was released on YouTube on January 21 and is apparently part of an album titled Shivdeep Bhojpuri Hits Vol-2.
With this song, which has since got thousands of likes on Twitter, Mr Kejriwal seems to be directly wooing Mr Tiwari’s vote bank.
Added to this are the promises of providing free electricity of up to 200 units and free bus rides for women.
The Delhi unit BJP chief is confident that the Poorvanchalis will not be swayed by the Kejriwal government’s power and bus freebies as 98 per cent of them, he claims, support his party.
Mr Kejriwal, however, has reiterated that all the freebies provided by his government would continue for the next five years if his party is voted to power.
In his tweet, Mr Kejriwal said: “People pay taxes to governments in the hope that their lives will be better. I am happy that Delhi is showing a new path to the country. Freebies, in limited dose, are good for the economy.”
