Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections are just around the corner, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has already announced incumbent Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as the CM face. Though there has been a trend in UP that no chief minister managed to win elections for consecutive terms, BJP is hoping to put an end to it and come back to power.
The ‘Brand Yogi’ that the party is trying to build is getting unexpected support from the singers hailing from Uttar Pradesh.
There are many songs that could be found on YouTube that hail CM Yogi Adityanath’s tenure as Chief Minister and hope for his return in the upcoming assembly elections. From BJP’s own Dinesh Lal Yadav aka Nirahua to Sandeep Acharya and Prem Krishnavanshi, there are many singers who have released songs in favour of CM Yogi Adityanath.
Dinesh Lal Yadav, aka Nirahua, a prominent Bhojpuri singer, has recently launched a song with the title ‘Ayenge to Yogi hi’ (Yogi will come back for sure). In the song that has already gained over 1.8 million views since its launch in September this year, Nirahua talked about how the CM Yogi-led government worked extensively to control crime in the state.
Apart from the Kumbh Mela, Ayodhya and UP Model of Covid management, different schemes like electricity, toilets, pension, free ration, roads etc., are prominent parts of the song. Notably, Yadav had contested the Lok Sabha election against SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav in 2019 but could not win.
Another song by singer Varun Bahar titled ‘Yogi baba badey ladahiya, phir se CM diyo banaye’ extensively talked about how crime went down under the leadership of CM Yogi Adiytanath. The song has visuals of buildings linked to criminals being demolished.
Singer Sandeep Acharya has released several songs promoting CM Yogi Adityanath for the upcoming elections. The song ‘Gorakhpur wale baba hai Ghar nilaam kara deinge’ (The saint from Gorakhpur will auction your house) talks about how the Yogi government took possession of the properties linked to criminals and demolished buildings built on encroached land across UP. It shows the posters where the government had put up posters of rioters. The lyrics goes:
UP main gundai karoge toh aukaad dikha denge, Gorakhpur wale baba hain, ghar nilaam kara denge..” (Criminals in UP will be shown their place, the Baba from Gorakhpur will have their properties auctioned off).
In another song titled ‘Yogi UP Ki hain Shaan’ (Yogi is the pride of UP), Acharya urged people to vote for BJP in the 2022 Assembly Elections. He talked about Bhavya Ram Mandir that is being built in Ayodhya and also emphasized on the reduced crime rate in the state.
OpIndia reached to Sandeep to talk about his songs for the upcoming elections. He said, “I am releasing songs for Hindu causes including Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Mathura Kashi, Gau Hatya and others. I also sing songs about social evils like female feticide, dowry etc. We love CM Yogi’s work in Uttar Pradesh and want him to become Chief Minister again.” He further rejected the allegations that BJP was financing the singers to sing songs in praises of CM Yogi and said, “These songs are not from the party but from the Hindus. My followers finance my songs as they are a devotee of the Hindu religion. We all want BJP to come back in power in UP.”
While talking to OpIndia, Singer Prem Krishnavanshi said that he has released over 100 songs on CM Yogi in the past few years and continues to do so as he is impressed by his work and wants him to get re-elected as Chief Minister of the state. His new song, ‘Thoda sa Bal Thackrey thoda sa Atal Bihari hai’, is gaining a lot of attention on social media platforms.
His other songs, like ‘Goonj rahe hai Shri Yogi Yogi’, has crossed lakhs of views on YouTube and is being widely shared on social media platforms, including WhatsApp.
Allegations drawn by opposition
According to a report in Hindustan Times, Zeeshan Haider, spokesman, Congress, called these singers party cadres. He said, “It is all very nice to get party cadres to sing songs in praise of anyone. But the point is, what are the people saying.”
BJP refuted the allegations
OpIndia reached out to Rakesh Tripathi, BJP State Spokesperson, Uttar Pradesh, for comments. While talking about the songs, Tripathi said that these songs not only inform people about the work BJP has done in the state but also connect followers of CM Yogi to the singers. He said, “The allegations that BJP is paying these singers to release songs praising CM Yogi are baseless. These singers hail from Uttar Pradesh and have seen the difference first hand that BJP has brought in terms of crime rate, electricity and more.”
He further added, “CM Yogi is popular among the singers as people love to see and listen to him. It is one of the reasons such songs gain a lot of traction on social media. It not only helps the singers to gain viewership but also in strengthening CM Yogi’s image in the state. These songs definitely help in promoting the work BJP has done in the state among the masses.”
