Dharavi rappers compose special song for Shiv Sena's Mumbai South Central candidate

MUMBAI: The election campaign in the city is getting a musical twist. Rappers from Dharavi have composed a groovy election campaign for Shiv Sena candidate Rahul Shewale from Mumbai South Central constituency.

"The tone of rap songs are generally anti-establishment. These songs are mostly used to show the plight of the poor and in that sense this song is a bit different," Jafar Shah, 25-year-old rapper from Dharavi Labour camp told TOI. "We researched some of the work that Shewale has done and then framed the song accordingly. It is an instant hit, locals seem to enjoy it a lot," said Shah.

Shah who is a school dropout has no formal training in music or dance, for him YouTube is his teacher. "I have done a few songs which are available on my YouTube channel," said Shah.

He along with his three friends and team members has composed a small song which underlines some of the works that Shewale has done in the past five years in the area. The song, talks about bringing GST relief to the small and medium traders of the area, renaming of Elphinstone station as Prabhadevi and the line that impressed Sena the most was "Ekach Saheb, Balasaheb".

However locals are not amused. "These songs are good for entertainment. Our problems of sanitation, drinking water and even basic health facilities continue to dog us," said Munera Qureshi, a local.