Political rockathon

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Political parties are trying their best to prove that there is more to politics than just scandals and scams. In a bid to woo voters in the run-up to the 2014 elections, parties have started improvising their campaign techniques.

And music is playing a key role and getting special attention as political parties are roping in popular artistes with mass appeal to give voice to the promises, goals and achievements of the party. The jingles are undoubtedly catchier than the traditional political campaign songs the nation has been exposed to so far.
Manmohan Singh-led UPA recently decided to tell its side of the political saga through a blend of television, print and social media ads in 11 regional languages in a new campaign — ‘The India Story over 9 Years’. The highlight of this campaign is a soundtrack, touted to be the anthem of UPA 2. “The song is titled Meelon hum aa gaye, meelon hume jaana hai and is sung by singers Shaan and Sunidhi Chauhan,” revealed Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari at a press conference. The song, as the name suggests, draws information from Robert Frost’s poem, Miles to go.
Singer Shaan mentions that politics and music can go hand-in-hand, but one has to be objective while taking up such projects. “I am a singer and my job is to sing. The UPA campaign song has motivational lyrics for the youth and I quite enjoyed singing it. Since the lyrics don’t really have any pointed biases, I had no qualms singing it. Earlier I have also sung for the BJP, MNS and even BSP. If a song is ‘clean’ and has a connect with the audience, I am fine with singing it,” he says.
Music is also striking a big note in the campaign strategy of Gujarat chief minister and prime ministerial aspirant Narendra Modi. His campaign team plans to release downloadable songs along with a 40-page comic book on Modi’s life next month. The team is also all set to enthrall Delhiites with an hour-long concert with Delhi-based Kashmiri band, Panchtarni — Music in Exile, on May 31. “The whole purpose is to launch an album revolving around the personality of Narendra Modi in a catchy way. Ours will be the opening song and other tracks are recorded in languages like Bhojpuri, Tamil and Bengali,” shares lead singer of the band Rahul Tikoo.
Generally, the “political rock” genre is considered to be anti-establishment and the lyrics decry politicking, but ironically, it is gaining acceptance as a means to connect to the youth in India. “For us, rock is just another genre of music and we believe that the lyrics of the song NaMo NaMo are smartly written to attract the youth. Youngsters don’t find an instant connect with the traditional old style of devotional songs sung in praise of leaders,” says Ashish Bhat, rhythm guitarist of the band.