TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu has not only been crying himself hoarse accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, K Chandrasekhar Rao and YS Jaganmohan Reddy of hatching a conspiracy against him but now he has also come out with a musical rendition of his own trials and tribulations because of the “conspiring trio” through a campaign song. Launched a week ago, the TDP campaign song, Sila mose gaayale, is quite a tearjerker and draws a parallel between Naidu and a stone that has to undergo much hewing before being carved into fine statue, and says the wounds left behind thus has reduced his people to tears.
The song talks about a “conspiracy” hatched against him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Chandrasekhar Rao and accuses the Leader of the Opposition of betraying the state in his alleged greed for power. The song also features YSRCP MP Vijay Sai Reddy, a key aide of its leader and BJP president Amit Shah, and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who all allegedly betrayed him after bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. The song video shows various construction sites of the new capital as well the industries launched there indicating that while Mr Naidu is working tirelessly for the state he is being “harassed” by his adversaries.
While such songs are quite popular before every election, the TDP campaign song shot in sepia is emotional in its content and appeal. The tune is soulful and the singer has done a good job. The music video of Sila mose gaayale had a total of 1,402,147 views on YouTube at the time of writing.
Jaganmohan Reddy too has a campaign song, Ravali Jagan Kavali Jagan, for him and its makers claim the song has over 10 million hits on YouTube. The song, which means “Jagan is coming, we want Jagan”, has a catchy tune and sounds like a marching song as it highlights the year long padayatra by YS Jaganmohan Reddy prior to his election campaign. The accompanying video is vibrant though it has some black and white footage of the padayatra of his father YS Rajasekhara Reddy which had propelled him to the chief minister’s office.
Jana Sena leader Pawan Kalyan too has his own song for campaigning.
Apparently, the trend of campaign songs was initiated into Telugu politics by actor turned politician NT Rama Rao who had founded the TDP. The songs are part of colourful campaigns, aimed at drawing people before the leaders arrive or for blaring during road shows. The latest TDP campaign song, however, seemed to be a last minute attempt to appeal to the people to vote for the cycle.