By Manoj Pande
Bihar done, Bengal done and dusted, it is now time for the juggernaut to move on. We did see a whiff of it a few days back with welcome billboards, banners and buntings all over as the much anticipated visit happened. And not to miss the names and mugshots of the local functionaries. After all, ‘those days’ are well neigh near and who knows who shall finally get the much coveted ‘ticket’ and finally be crowned.
One of the vivid memories of my childhood is travelling to Almora. Boarding the early morning bus from Delhi, cruising through various small towns of UP, our spirits perked up as the hills began to appear, as a silhouette at first and then right in front as we reached Kathgodam. Thereafter began the climb to Almora, our destination.
Cut to a different scenario.
It is July 2026. Four years plus already. Time to get ready for election bells to clang in ‘Devbhoomi’.
Like the bus journey to Almora, polls loom on the horizon, though faint at present. And before we know it, it will be time for the hustings. The dance of democracy will then be in full show all over Uttarakhand, its cacophony reaching zenith by the final date.
The signs are evident. In our city, walls had been painted sometime back, showcasing images and motifs of Uttarakhand. Most of it is now fast disappearing, partly faded but mainly because the ‘hopefuls’ have decided to paint upon them with their names, ideas and slogans on environment, patriotism and what not, conveniently forgetting that disfiguring a wall is not exactly what a law abiding citizen does. These disfigured walls are a brazen display of their ‘civic consciousness’. Nothing amiss really, as walls in our country have always been considered public property, to stick posters, spit or urinate upon.
‘Brand Visibility’ is an essential component of marketing. The advent of the ‘flexi’ board/banner has made things more easy, simple and quick. Banners are everywhere – welcoming, congratulating, gratefulness for some scheme or the coming festivals/event, and even a birthday carrying photos of the entire pantheon of party leadership and of course the local ‘neta’. Many more will erupt in coming days.
And not to miss the boards on the electric poles and bus stops informing us of the ‘achievements’ of the present sarkaar. Memories need to be kept alive, lest we, the electorate forget. It is another matter that it is our taxes that have paid for all this display.
More rallies, inaugurations, foundation stone ceremonies by the ruling dispensation or by the ever hopeful challengers, unearthing scandals, real or imagined. A few months from now, the festive season will be on. Expect more ‘public representatives’ and ‘grassroots workers’ organising programmes during Navratris, Ramlilas and Dussehra. And landing up in marriages, especially mass marriages. The underlying message – “I am with you.” What is left unsaid is “Please do not forget me or my party when the time comes”.
We are all witness to the triumvirate of laying of sewer lines, underground electric cables and gas pipelines that have dug up roads all over the city. In some lucky colonies the roads have been repaired with fresh bitumen. Obviously, credit for the improvement must be taken. Freshly painted boards have been put there prominently with names of the local MLA and the paarshad and the CM.
In the days to come, expect more rallies, morchas, dharnas, sit-ins and public meetings, all of which are basically a show of strength. And if the road traffic is disrupted, so be it. Think of it as one of the ‘mudras’ of the dance of democracy.
Newspapers would surely love the full page advertisements, though I wonder what purpose they serve in other state editions. On the plus side, we now know what the governments in UP, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, etc., are doing. Like the achievements of Uttarakhand government displayed on the top of a billboard at the Tilak Nagar Delhi bus stop enhances the awareness of a Tamilian living there!
‘Vikaas’, ‘Suraksha’, ‘Rozgaar’ or any issue. All kinds of ‘isms’– secularism, nationalism, patriotism, factionalism, fundamentalism … with the hope that something may stick. Allegations and counter allegations, speeches and jingles add to the din. Sadly, thus far, nobody has spoken about the rapidly disappearing greenery and the concretisation of this city with the grotesque malls and complexes that leave no room for a single shady tree right up to the road, already jampacked with vehicles.
I love it when the Model Code of Conduct comes into force. Inaugurations, foundation stones, announcements all cease. An eerie silence after all the noise. A strange sadistic glee to see the banners and hoardings removed and the slogan carrying walls painted black. But it is only a temporary reprieve, till they get defaced again with congratulatory messages, some even thanking the voters.
Imagine if all elections were to be held together. A drop in the seasonal employment of wall artists and flexi printers, fewer full page newspaper advertisements, fewer rallies and the Tamilian waiting for the DTC bus at the Tilak Nagar bus stop in Delhi remaining ignorant about the achievements of the Uttarakhand government.
