Taking a cue from the TMC’s popular campaign anthem “Khela Hobe” in the 2021 West Bengal assembly election, the ruling TRS has come up with a campaign song “Gulabile Jendale Ramakka”. The party hopes that it will capture the imagination of the Telangana voters and pave the way for the return of K Chandrasekhar Rao to power for a record third time.
The BRS lost its earlier edge when it traded its identity as the sole political entity of Telangana for national expansion and settled for a name change, from Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS). Facing the electorate for the first time as BRS, it is now banking on the song “Gulabile Jendale Ramakka” to re-establish that emotional connect with the people of Telangana, who had once fiercely struggled for statehood under the pink flag of the TRS. The opening lines of the campaign song “Gulabile Jendale Ramakka” refers to the party’s pink hued flags.
The TMC’s poll jingle “Khela Hobe” had generated tremendous response among its sports crazy population with even BJP leaders acknowledging that “the game was on.” Perhaps because of the Left activism, a heritage that it shares with West Bengal, songs have been the bulwark of every struggle in Telangana, including the statehood movement when the revolutionary balladeer Gaddar ignited passions with his songs.
The songs were mostly written and sung by ordinary folks, often belonging to the marginalized section of the society. The BRS campaign song “Gulabile Jendale Ramakka” too is rooted to such rusticity, unlike “Ravali Jagan Kavali Jagan” – a more sophisticated campaign song launched by Prasant Kishore’s I-PAC in 2019 for the YSRCP.
The BRS campaign song first came to light when women activists performed it ahead of a September public rally of the chief minister, K Chandrasekhar Rao at Nagarkurnool where the crowds responded to the foot-tapping folk tune.
“We found the song appealing and after polishing up the lyrics it was recorded by the same women and released as our campaign song. The teaser became viral instantly. We hope it will generate the same vibe as ‘Khela Hobe’,” said a member of the BRS election war room. The simple lyrics exhort people to walk with KCR who had brought statehood to the people after fighting with New Delhi. It speaks about his various welfare schemes which brought prosperity in their lives.
The song also reminds people that despite multiple symbols, they must choose the pink flag and the car (BRS poll symbol) to bring KCR, their “elder brother”, back to power. The video also projects only KCR, often considered to be the tallest leader of Telangana.
The song seeks to capitalize on the local Bathukamma festival that coincides with Navratri as women sing and dance together.