Given politicians’ wont to singing a new tune every time they change parties, it’s only befitting that they are banking on songs to campaign. In Himachal, parties like the BJP, Congress and the BSP are using film and folk songs by traditional artists to lure the voters in the coming elections.

The BJP is using audio cassettes to compensate for the absence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and to glorify its chief ministerial candidate P.K. Dhumal. One such tape, Dhumala Ra Nazara, belts out a song Prini Basde Vajpayee (Vajpayee resides in Prini), referring to his Himachal connection, Prini village in Manali, and has three others on Dhumal, the “icon of development”.

The cassettes are serving the purpose well by attracting local attention—even children are seen dancing to these tunes—due to the catchy numbers and voices of popular local artists like Sharada Sharma and Inder Singh Thakur. “The lyrics have been written by Thakur and talk of various developmental aspects of the BJP government,” says Rajinder Rana, in charge of BJP campaign in Hamirpur. The party may even launch a video CD of these folk songs.

Meanwhile, the Congress and the BSP are sticking to Bollywood tunes like Pardesion se na akhian milana to remind the people about the polling date and their candidates. However, the CPI(M) think-tank smirks at these tools, with Tikender Panwar, member of the state secretariat, saying, “We have a huge staff that can talk directly to people. We are also scripting street plays on area-specific issues. Our plays will highlight the problems of various sections, including women, children, farmers, employees, labourers and teachers.”

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