108 kuien kuien kuien ANDHRA PRADESH

A phrase popularised by Chief Minister YSR Reddy to remind people of his Rajiv Gandhi Arogyasri Scheme, which involves participation by private sector hospitals to bring medical care to the poor. The numbers 108 and 104 (for cities and rural areas) are what you need to dial for an ambulance which carts the patient to the nearest hospital. The ‘kuein kuein kuein’ was used effectively by YSR to mimic the siren.

Dalit Brahmins UTTAR PRADESH

Brahmins who flocked to the BSP in the 2007 assembly election—as a consequence of Mayawati’s ‘social engineering’—are sniggeringly called the ‘Dalit Brahmins’ by some in their own community. At one level, the term suggests that the BSP may not have attracted a representative Brahmin leadership in 2007. It is also a sign that caste prejudice, which had arguably taken a backseat to the overwhelming anti-Mulayam wave in the 2007 polls, may now be kicking back in.

Secular bones ORISSA

It was a phrase popularised by Naveen Patnaik in the aftermath of the Kandhamal riots. Though he first said it in a TV interview last year, Patnaik stressed his secular credentials during campaigning, repeating his famous “each bone of my body is secular” speech. He never forgot to remind voters that he chose to break away from a “communal BJP” after the Kandhamal riots.

Ruler PUNJAB

When Punjab politicians say ‘ruler’, what they mean is ‘rural’. Call it a Freudian slip or a malapropism, but most of the prominent leaders of the state, including the chief minister, say: “Aaj ruler areas vich rally haigi (today there is a rally in rural areas).” The word has caught on: people in these ‘ruler areas’ think ‘ruler’ means village.

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