Political parties are highlighting vernacular mediums in their campaigning for the Assembly polls. Dialects used the most in a particular district or area are being used in songs and speeches recorded by the candidates. Tribal scholars are ‘happy’ that the regional languages have received special attention from political parties.
On one side Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is wooing voters through Sadri, Nagpuri, Bengali and Oriya, Congress has roped in Urdu speakers besides the mentioned language experts. Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) has recorded its candidate’s messages in Bhojpuri along with all the important dialects spoken in the state.
Asked the reason, all the parties said that it is essential to reach out the mass in its mother tongue. “We cannot connect and share our political agendas in Hindi in all the districts. There are many who cannot understand any other dialect except their native language. In such circumstances, we are left with the option of using the particular local language used by them in their daily lives,” BJP spokesperson Pradip Sinha said. Similarly, Congress spokesperson lal Kishore Nath Shahdeo said, “People can easily relate their life with a candidate if vernacular medium is adopted.”
Districts like Jamtara, Dhanbad and Pakur are considered a Bengali community belt. Candidates are tuning their campaigning songs only in Bengali in these areas. In Bokaro, Khortha is widely used among the residents. As a result, Khortha is used in the poll parodies here. In districts like Ranchi, Khunti and Ramgarh where a large population speaks Hindi as well as Nagpuri, parodies in both the languages are tuned.
Ranchi University’s Tribal and Regional languages head KC Tudu feels the regional inclination of parties is undoubtedly promoting the culture of the state. “The impact of the songs and speeches recorded by the candidates in local dialects has created a positive scenario. This will certainly help increasing the voting percentage this time,” he said.
Similarly, Central University of Jharkhand’s Tribal Folklore, language and literature head Rabindranath Misra said, “Political parties can reach the soul and heart of a resident quite easily with the help of language spoken by its community. It plays a great role.”
Interestingly, many parties including Jharkhand Mukti Morcha have made a fusion out of the parody. The tune of the song is a bollywood track whereas the lyrics are either in Nagpuri or Hindi depending upon the locality.