BJP ahead of opposition in slogan war in Uttar Pradesh

Lucknow: ‘Ab ki baar, 400 paar’ -- this is the only election slogan that is reverberating in the political arena in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP is already leading the way with this catchy slogan that has caught the fancy of voters.

The Congress, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party have failed to come up with slogans that can match this magic.

The Samajwadi Party is harping on the rather mundane slogan that says, “Is baar, PDA sarkar’ -- PDA being an acronym for Pichhda, Dalit, Alpasankhyak.

The slogan lacks creativity and has not caught on among the campaigners.

The Congress slogan is ‘Ab hoga nyay’ and ‘Haath badlega halaat’ but both slogans have not caught on among voters either.

The Bahujan Samaj Party, meanwhile, is still undecided whether it wants to pursue the elections with ‘Sarvjan Hitaye, Sarvjan Sukhaye’ or go back to ‘Bahujan Hitaye, Bahujan Sukhaye’.

Slogans often shape elections -- whether created by poll strategists or shaped by people’s consciousness -- resonate with the mood of the nation.

Looking at some slogans that defined politics over the past four decades, one remembers the sympathy wave that was unleashed in 1984 following the assassination of the late Indira Gandhi.

The slogan “Jab Tak Suraj Chand Rahega, Indira Tera Naam Rahega” worked in favour of Congress and secured 404 Lok Sabha seats.

Five years later, in 1989, the slogan “Raja nahin fakir hai, desh ki taqdeer hai’ catapulted VP Singh to power.

“Sabko dekha bari bari, Abki Bari Atal Bihari” was the slogan that the BJP used to project Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister in 1996.

The BJP gave the slogan ‘India Shining’ in 2004 to describe the economic prosperity of India. However, the slogan failed to yield desired results.

“Congress ka haath, aam admi ke saath” in 2004, brought Congress back to power.

“Achhe din aane waale hain” in 2014 was the magical slogan that earned a majority and installed the Modi government firmly in power.

“Phir ek baar Modi sarkar’ in 2019 gave a second term to the Modi government.

In the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, it is the slogan “Abki baar, 400 paar’ seems to be working the same while the opposition has miserably failed to conjure up similar magic in this slogan war.