AGRA: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s popular slogan that caught the fancy of Bengal voters during the recent assembly elections has been swiftly adopted by the Samajwadi Party workers in Uttar Pradesh, who have painted its Bhojpuri version – ‘Khela Hoi’ – on the walls of several cities across the state.
After the slogan appeared initially in Varanasi and Kanpur, it is now painted on the walls of several other cities, including Aligarh. Even hoardings saying ‘Khela Hoi’ have been put up. Juhi Singh, the party’s state spokesperson, said that though this is not an official slogan of the party yet, party workers are using it widely as they seem to like it. “Our party will play the game with a strategy,” she said, adding that this phrase came from Bengal where Trinamool contested elections against all odds and won.
The hoardings with the slogans “Ab UP me khela hoi” (now the game is on in UP) have been put at various vantage points in Aligarh. “This message is for the ouster of BJP from power in the 2022 state elections like it happened in West Bengal,” said Ajju Ishhaq, former city president of Samajwadi party in Aligarh. He added that unemployed youths and people from backward castes will come together to vote the SP to power in 2022.
When contacted, BJP MP from Aligarh, Satish Gautam, said this is UP, not Bengal. “They can write whatever they want, but the Yogi government will be formed again in the state,” said Gautam, adding that they can do “khela” only on posters and hoardings, not on the ground.
“They could not play the role of opposition in the state and want to fight elections on the basis of slogans borrowed from another state,” said BJP’s state spokesperson Chandramohan, adding that they “don’t have anything to say against the government, so they are now copying slogans”.
View More | Source: Times of India