I have taken a two day break from Amritsar to be present in Delhi. There is a lot of work to be completed in Delhi. I held various meetings with the media and publicity teams of the party. There were two major public functions.
The release of the Party’s campaign anthem
The BJP has prepared for circulation during elections a campaign anthem. This will be amongst the various musical songs available in both the audio and video format. The song has outstanding lyrics written by Prasoon Joshi. The punch line of the song is “Saugandh mujhe is mitti ki, Main Desh nahin Bikne doonga.” The music is composed by Adesh Srivastava and the song has been sung by the well known singer Sukhvinder. Occasional lines of the song are in Narendra Modi’s own voice. The song was released by me before the media at the Party Headquarters.
The anthem/song will be played at various public rallies and on campaign vehicles. The video of the song besides being played in public, will also be used in advertisements. With the kind of enthusiasm building around the BJP campaign the song at public rallies will add to the momentum of the campaign.
The Google Hangout
I participated in a Google Hangout where Rajdeep Sardesai in English and Sanjay Pugalia in Hindi anchored the various questions being asked by a large number of people. The hangout is a part of Google’s effort to cover India’s General Elections. Political leaders across Indian political parties are going to be invited by Google Hangout.
There is obviously some interest which the questioners had in my own politics. I have had a long political background as a student leader, a lawyer, Party functionary, a Minister, Leader of Opposition and now as a Lok Sabha candidate myself. They were obviously interested in what made me switch from the comforts of a membership of the Rajya Sabha to the heat and dust of Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress no longer seems to occupy the mind space of the voter. There are not too many questions which indicate any of the concern, sympathy or appreciation left for the Congress. The space that the Left occupied as a possible third force has now been occupied by the Aam Aadmi Party. It remains a subject of curiosity. However its governance track record does not seem to have impressed too many people. If at all its track record in governance has been adversely commented upon. Economy, National security and corruption appear to be issues of great concern to the people. There is a lot of curiosity about the economic policies of the BJP and how it could restore the investment cycle. Price rise, plight of farmers, prices of oil and gas continue to be issues of concern. It is encouraging to note that popular opinion is strongly against impropriety in public life, Tainted or controversial persons, scams. Declining quality of men in public life have created a sense of anger and revulsion. There is a huge public scrutiny about politicians.
Capt Amarinder Singh
What is the extent of arrogance and discourtesies that Captain Sahab can indulge in? Yesterday he told ANI, the TV news agency that “I am there to fight the BJP candidate whether it’s Jaitley, Fately or Footly.” I am glad the national media chose just to ignore this comment. Humility and courtesies are alien to the Captain.
Varanasi as an Opportunity
Narendra Modi contesting from Varanasi appears to have provided an opportunity to Arvind Kejriwal to jump into the fray. His strategy is simple. If there is an opportunity for publicity you must avail of it. He piggybacks on Narendra Modi’s popularity so that being Modi’s opponent helps him garner some publicity.