Two things would obstruct your strides the most on chock-a-block streets during packed festival season. One is numerous Puja Pandals and another is countless hoardings of green horn politicians put on the way to the pandals.
The scene is very common this season in Ranchi and most of the dividers and sidewalks to pandals are laden with medium sized cutouts and banners carrying names of 'rising' leaders with or without party symbols.
"It is there. It is my gesture to greet people in the upcoming festive season that has started with Durga Puja and would continue till Chhath. The entire season is filled with festivity through which we can reach large number of people without much effort. It also sends out good and positive signals among the people," says Rajiv Ranjan Prasad.
Rajiv Ranjan was a known face in the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and wanted to contest lok Sabha polls. Then lower in stature, he was denied party ticket that prompted him to join the Congress. Gearing up ahead this time he has put over 150 cutouts greeting people for Dusshehra near Sarjana Chowk and other pandals nearby with "good cost".
It is learnt that most of such leaders are greenhorns in the world of politics and want to make their probable voters aware about their names. Festivals like this provide them a readymade platform to make some early inroads into the target audience.
"These all are done on personal level. I often remain active among the people due to my social commitments and it is my duty to greet them during festive seasons. I contacted the Puja organising committee and took permission for putting in my hoardings," said Rajesh Kumar, a long time Congress party activist.
Moreover, the display of both the upcoming leaders of the Congress in Ranchi city seems like challenging each other and party insiders suggest that they are not on the same page as far as "party's activities" are concerned.
Sympathizers of some tall politicians have also come out and propping up to claim their proximity. Hoardings carrying bigger pictures of Ranchi MlA and Minister in the Government CP Singh and Hatia's former MlA Ajay Nath Shahdeo can also been seen around pandals along with lesser known novices.
"All those who want to come into public life use this opportunity. This is one of the gestures towards voters. But it does not come all out of nothing. I am quite active in the area and for the first time using the billboards," said Abhay Singh, whose hoardings want to signal Ajay Nath Shahdeo's patronage.
In most of the cases the aspirants use party symbols so that their political identity within the party and also among their 'voters' can be fixed well in advance even without formal consent. "They do not take permission from the party to put in their cutouts which ideally they should have. leaders should also not use festivals to promote themselves among voters. But they don't want to miss such a lucrative opportunity where you do not need any effort to gather the crowd," says Alok Kumar Dubey, Jharkhand Congress general secretary.
Dubey, moreover, also feels that the 'cheap popularity funda' does not pay much dividend. "May be lakhs of people would come visiting pandals and in the way look at your hoarding but that does not go in good taste to them. The visitors seldom give a serious look at such cutouts. Instead, the leaders should be contributing the money spent in organising the Puja," added Dubey.
But when neither their party nor the Ranchi Municipal Corporation is complaining, why would the lusty politicos would miss seizing the momentIJ "RMC sells the space to advertisement agencies and the matter rests between the leader and the agency," clarified capital's municipal body PRO Naresh Kumar Sinha, when inquired about mess the obstructing cutouts bring in on already bustling paths.
Hording-2 : Politicians' hoardings near a Durga Puja Pandal in Ranchi on Monday. Pix by Ratan lal