‘Akhilesh singhasan khali karo, BJP aati hai’ — BJP’s gearing up for UP

With the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections drawing ever so close, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a bid to replicate its performance of 71 out of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the 2014 general elections, has unveiled a new slogan – “Akhilesh singhasan khali karo, BJP aati hai(Akhilesh vacate the throne, BJP is coming).” After the catchy chants of 2014, like “Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas (Collective Efforts Inclusive Growth)”, “Abki Baar Modi Sarkar (This time, Modi government)” and “Achhe din aane waale hain (Good days are coming)”, the new slogan may come across as a dampener for some.

But before you log into Twitter and start joking about BJP missing the likes of Prasoon Joshi, Piyush Pandey and Prashant Kishor, it is imperative to gain some perspective. The slogan for UP polls is a reference to “Sinhasan Khali Karo Ki Janta Aati Hai (Vacate the throne, for the people are coming)”, a poem about the people’s power by Ramdhari Singh Dinkar. Notably, it was used as a call to arms by Jayaprakash Narayan or JP during the Emergency. BJP’s appropriation of the poem comes across as a tad too intellectual in a state known for its colourful electioneering.

Most of the famous examples come from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) as the party expanded its purely Dalit vote base to include upper castes. So, in 2002, the party went with “Tilak, tarazu aur talwar, inko maro joote char (Brahmin, Baniya and Thakur, thrash them with shoes)”, a slogan that Mayawati recently denied ever raising. By 2007, the cry had changed to “Chhad gundan ki chhati par, button daba hathi par (Fight back against the criminals, vote for elephant)” in response to the poor law and order situation under Samajwadi Party (SP).

As Brahmins entered the BSP fold, “Jitni jinki sankhya bhari, Utni unki hissedari (Bigger share in power for those with numbers)” morphed into “Jitni jiski taiyyari, Utni uski hissedari (Bigger share for the better prepared)”. Over the years, “Bahujan Hitai Bahujan Sukhaya (Peace and prosperity for many)” has changed to “Sarvajan Hitai Sarvajan Sukhaya (Peace and prosperity for all)”. With Mayawati trying hard to stitch a Dalit-Muslim alliance, we await a new rallying cry.