Sidelines by Maitreyi: A Teenmaar to Telangana Elections!
From political speeches that could give commercial movie scriptwriters a run for their money to raids on private cars that make voters feel like they’re in an edge-of-the-seat thriller, Telangana, India’s youngest state, is revving up for its third assembly election on November 30th, 2023.
Some argue the ‘car’ has covered great welfare distance, while others feel the people of Telangana will ‘hand’ victory to its old birth givers. Some predict the political ground is so murky that the ‘lotus’ will see a great harvest this year, but these conjectures are as reliable as Bollywood dating scenarios on Koffee with Karan.
Interestingly, in this Telangana elections, local parties are remodeling their brand image to clinch national status, while national ones are on a quest to claim local status by getting as close to home as possible. A few, like pizza dosa or rasmalai panna cotta, are still figuring out where they really belong and whom they represent.
Ironically, the only thing common among them is the manifesto. Like a worn-out cassette, it still revolves around roti, kapda, and makaan with generous toppings of ‘free goodies’ schemes. Which student copied from whom is highly debatable, but with the state’s inflation rates fluctuating between 7 to 8 percent, one wonders where all these parties will get the money to fulfill their promises, even if they win. (Perhaps we need a “Save Our Pockets” campaign for taxpayers.)
What’s unique this time is how every political party and its star campaigners are slaying it on social media while still hitting the road. From Bharat Rastra Samithi’s “Etlunde Telangana, Etlaindi Telangana” campaign, inspired by the film Mem Famous, to Indian National Congress’s quirky YouTube advertisements showcasing a pink car being punctured by people, the scroll culture is gaining great traction among young voters.
Meanwhile, voters can run a background check on their favorite leaders from the affidavit section of the election commission’s website. Unfortunately, like a textbook gathering dust for an entire academic year, the download count on the site has been extremely low, raising questions about voters’ political awareness just weeks before the election.
Did you know that most of our political leaders are poorer than their spouses? Or that many of them have multiple cases that were acquitted without even a trial? Almost all of them list agriculture as their primary source of income. It’s surprising that some even own guns, while a few also run broadcasting companies with no internet presence.
To inform such information may or may not be mandatory for the party nominee in a constituency but to be an uninformed voter in this day and age of technology is an insult to the power you have been bestowed by the constitution. So, dear Telanganites choose to vote wisely. Your future rests with you!
