“Maati ko sona karne wali kalakaari hain ji, haan hum Bihari hain ji (We have the artistry to turn sand into gold, yes, we are Biharis)”. As Bihar’s political theatre heats up and people of the state get ready to vote in the two-phased Assembly polls, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari is amplifying the idea of celebrating Bihari pride through this new ditty.
In a song released two weeks ago by Bhojpuri IT cell, a YouTube channel run by Singapore-based engineer and producer Shailendra Singh “to create clean content in Bhojpuri language”, Tiwari is attempting to turn the somewhat self-consciousness and discomfort often seen in the idea of being a Bihari into a celebration and a matter of pride, followed by mentions of some of the country’s most celebrated writers, including Phanishwar Nath Renu and Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, who hailed from Bihar.
The song, which isn’t from the usual soundscape of autotuned and risqué Bhojpuri numbers, also talks about Nalanda University as well as Kunwar Singh, who led the 1857 rebellion from the Bhojpur region of the state, and socialist icon Jayprakash Narayan.
Mumbai-based lyricist Atul Kumar Rai, who is originally from Bihar, wrote the song not as an election agenda but because “Bihar is being talked about in the media at this time”. “The song does not ask you to vote for any particular party. But because Manoj ji is singing the song and it was released before the Bihar election, many people assumed it is for the BJP,” says Rai, who felt that the songs of and from Bihar were not showing the idea of “Biharipan”. “They speak about casteism, regionalism and extremism. I wanted the Instagram generation, the youth, to also take the actual story and history of Bihar home. The impact has been unexpected. People have really liked the song,” says Rai about the song, which has over eight lakh views.
In Bihar’s small studios, music producers, writers, composers and singers have spent the last few months splicing beats and slogans to reach the nooks and crannies of every village where rallies might not. From development to highlighting migration and belonging, as well as explaining identity, and Chhath bhajans turning into campaign ideas, the songs are trying everything in their power to attract the Bihari voter.
While Maithili Thakur, the BJP candidate from Alinagar, is singing directly to the voters on her campaign trail with lines like “Kaaki vote diya he, Alinagar ke banvayi hum vidhayika (Kaaki, please vote for me, and make me Alinagar MLA)”, actor-singer-turned-politician Pawan Singh’s song “Jodi Modi aur Nitish ji ki hit hoyi” is also finding a lot of attention, not just in the dusty streets of Bihar but also online, where it has raked in 11 lakh views.
Calling himself a “soldier of the BJP”, Pawan Singh had pulled out of the poll race. He was expelled last year for contesting the Lok Sabha election as an Independent against the NDA’s official candidate – Upendra Kushwaha of the Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM).
In the list of songs by popular singers, a song rising in decibels is “Aave wala Jan Suraaj”, sung by Bhojpuri singer and actor Ritesh Pandey, who is contesting as a Jan Suraaj candidate from the Kargahar seat.
Banking on Prashant Kishor’s agenda of employment and curbing migration, Pandey sings, “Ab Bihar mein sudhar hoyi ho, sabke roj hi rojgaar huyi ho, aane wala Jan Suraaj badue”. The lyricist of the song, R R Pankaj, who has written songs in the past for the NDA as well, told The Indian Express that Kishor wanted the song to highlight his party’s roadmap. “People used to come and study at Nalanda. And now people have to leave Bihar to study. The song tells them that there will be hope at home now,” says Pankaj.
Quite a few songs have emerged from the Mahagathbandhan’s CM candidate and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav’s social media too, including “Tejashwi abki aihe ge, roshan sawera layi hege (Tejashwi will come this time, and will ring in a bright morning)” and “Kasam Bihar ki, abki ye sarkaar badal denge (We promise on Bihar that the government will change)”, with lines like “Nakaam nikammi satta ke singhasan ko paltenge (We will upturn the throne of this unsuccessful and useless dispensation)”.
Pankaj adds that composers and writers during elections are mostly not bound by the idea of the party, and the same people often work with everyone. He’s also written a song for NDA candidate Anil Kumar, who is contesting on a Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) ticket from the Tikari seat.
A Chhath song created under music label and studio Laxmi Audio Video also talks about making “Nitish chacha” the CM again. The same studio is singing about “Prashant Kishor bhaiya” and how he should be made the CM, as well as “Tejashwi bhaiya” and how people should vote for the “laalten (RJD’s poll symbol lantern)”.
Earlier this year, during the Delhi Assembly polls, Shailendra Singh had also written a Bhojpuri version of Tiwari’s “Hind ka sitara” for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to reach out to people from Purvanchal.
At a recent rally in Muzaffarpur, Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted one of the songs for its usage of “Donaali, katta and garda” and asked people to be careful of the RJD-Congress’s “malicious intent”. The viral song “Bhaiya ke aave de satta mein, utha lebo sataa ke katta ghar se”, which was mentioned by Modi, is by singer Gandhi Lal Yadav and was released under Durga Films and not from Tejashwi’s official channel and social media. It also bears a note that it is “for entertainment”.