‘Khadeda Hoibe’: SP, its allies tweak Mamata’s ‘Khela Hobe’ to ‘chase away’ BJP in UP polls

PTI, Jan 29, 2022, 2:30 PM IST

Designed after the famous ”Khela Hobe” campaign song of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Akhilesh Yadav-led Opposition alliance has been singing its own ”Khadeda Hoibe” (will be chased away) poll jingle in Uttar Pradesh to dethrone the BJP.

Based on the local dialect prevalent in the Purvanchal region of Uttar Pradesh, the song, which was launched recently, has been doing the rounds on social media and is being played at political functions of the opposition grouping in its fight against the ruling BJP.

”The people of Uttar Pradesh are themselves saying that there will be a ‘Khadeda Hoibe’ (will be chased out) for the BJP, and at some places in the state its (the BJP’s) people are being actually being chased away by angry voters.

”The ‘Khadeda Hoibe’ battle cry is uniting people from different sections of the society and from various walks of life. The template of Bengal (assembly elections) is significantly resonating with the people in Uttar Pradesh,” Samajwadi Party MLC Ashutosh Sinha told PTI.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who defeated the BJP in the assembly polls in her state last year, is batting for the Samajwadi Party in the battle for Uttar Pradesh.

When contacted, lyricist and singer of ‘Khela Hobe’ (game on) jingle, Debangshu Bhattacharya said the political condition and fight at the two places are of different types. ”At one place (in Bengal), it was to bring back the ruling party, while at the other place (Uttar Pradesh), it is about removing the ruling party,” he told PTI.

He said the BJP’s rivals in West Bengal didn’t have any counter to the party’s ‘Jai Shri Ram’ chant which they were using for political purposes. ”If someone tried to stop them, then they will show that they have problem with the name of the God and this also would help them in polarisation of votes.” ”After coining ‘Khela Hobe’, if the BJP workers raised ‘Jai Shri Ram’, the TMC workers would say ‘Khela Hobe’. And, the public evinced more interest in the latter,” he said.

The ‘Khadeda Hoibe’ poll jingle would also be a strong counter to the BJP’s ”religious polarization tactics”, said Bhattacharya, who is also the general secretary of TMC’s youth unit, said.

He said every battle has a specific battle cry which instills enthusiasm among the workers. And, if it is liked by the public, it helps the party.” The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party’s national general secretary Arun Rajbhar said that at a joint rally in Mau on October 27 last year, the SP and the SBSP gave the slogan ‘Khadeda Hoibe’ on the lines of ‘Khela Hobe’ in Bengal. ”In Bengal, there was a ‘Khela’ (game), but in UP, there will be a ‘Khadeda (chasing away),” he said.

TMC leader from UP, Laliteshpati Tripathi said, ”In elections, you need unifying themes, and if you get them through songs, then it is good.

”And, this time there is a context — if it is possible to defeat the BJP in Bengal, then I feel that the people can do the same here. The song will be an effective medium to deliver this message to the people and party workers.” The SP’s ‘Khadeda Hoibe’ jingle runs for 3.29 minutes, highlighting issues like inflation, unemployment alleged mismanagement of the Covid pandemic among others.