Samikhsya Bureau
As the poll process for 2019 comes closer to its end, the entire episode leave a trail of interesting metaphors, coinages and tales of pride and prejudice. Regardless of the projections, predictions and claims, at last there shall be a government in the Centre and states. After that things will go on as usual.
But the most interesting features this election had produced were hardly anywhere there in earlier such hustings. Jibes, sobriquets, aspersions and self-adulation, an amusing mix of nomenclature that had entertained some and some have been left hurt. But, it all goes on in the name of elections.
Sloganeering stemmed from the Centre when the war of words was waged between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Congress president Rahul Gandhi and for long remained stuck at ‘Chowkidar’ to ‘Chor’ between the both.
When the ice-peak melts, it flows downstream. Tempers rose and did a decline in language and civility. It had started with the Mission-120 slogan of Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah calling Naveen Patnaik a ‘burnt transformer’ that is required to be thrown into the Bay of Bengal. “ Ukhard kar phenko” was what Shah used as the motivating monosyllable to activate the sagging morale of the BJP in Odisha. Either that worked or not is yet to be known but, it did spread the contagion of such terminologies by the state cadres.
‘ Chahiye ki nahin chahiye ‘ was another stimulant that both Modi and Shah played to the gallery. Which was soon to be followed by one slogan ‘ abki bar, Modi sarkar’(this time, Modi government) , the one liner that pulverised the essence and existence of NDA, at least, till the end of this ‘festival of democracy ‘. That perhaps can be viewed as a first ever deviation of alliance ideology.
As long as there are people to bite the baits why someone like Naveen Patnaik, who ruled Odisha for 19 years uninterrupted, lack behind. In what can be called a smarter adoption of Modi’s style the former introduced ‘ Apana mane khushi ta, mun bhi khushi ‘ (I am happy if you all are happy) and soon it got on well with the masses.
The last nail in the coffin that made the thunder was hit by none other than the Prime Minister himself who barbed his soft jibes at Naveen Patnaik saying that Naveen Patnaik’s time in Odisha is over.
Notwithstanding the outcome on May 23, the one liner slogans are to be remembered for some time to come. But, what perturbs is not the words but the cynical leer they are uttered with forgetting that in a vast democratic proscenium like in India, leaders are smarter and they meet with each other and come to grips also with each other between the Sun rise and the Sun set, leaving the larger mass reeling under the same darkness waiting for their new sun.
