‘UP me sab baa’ vs ‘UP me kaa baa’: Bhojpuri rap songs add new flavour to UP elections

PATNA: As the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections inch closer and the political class leaves no stone unturned to outdo each other to come up trumps, a new turf seems to have opened up. This new sward may have left both the protagonists and antagonists – depending on which side your affiliation, or liking, lies – completely stumped. This turf that one is talking about here has everything to do with Bhojpuri – Bhojpuri songs to be more precise.

The Bhojpuri language, spoken by millions of people in Bihar, eastern UP and northwestern Jharkhand, is making its wave in the fierce electoral battle between Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and his challenger, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

The BJP is banking on the popularity of a song – UP me sab baa (UP has everything…) – sung by party MP from Gorakhpur and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan to pep up its poll prospects. However, soon after UP me sab baa went viral came another one from Neha Singh Rathore, a popular folk singer of Bhojpuri, in the form of UP me kaa baa… (What’s there in UP?). This too went viral. Neha’s song, largely seen as a riposte to Ravi Kishan’s chartbuster is going strong.

Only time will tell which one of these songs will be music to the voters’ ears in the Bhojpuri-speaking belt of Uttar Pradesh or it whether they will be dismissed as mere election tricks.

Kishan’s song, which was uploaded on YouTube, highlights the work done by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in UP.

On the other hand, Bhojpuri singer-cum-social media celebrity Neha’s song takes a broadside against the UP government. Her song has gone so popular among opponents of BJP that it’s seen being played on a big screen in the background at a press meet of Akhliesh Yadav with SP leaders clearly seen relishing every bit of it.

Taking up the cudgels:

And, even as political parties are taking the music route too to woo voters, singer Maithali Thakur, known for her mellifluous rendering, too has lent her support to BJP in the UP polls. In an interview that the singer posted on her Facebook account, she is all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath, calling them her social and political icons.

Of course, the BJP is also using the musical talent of Manoj Tiwari, presently representing North East Delhi in Lok Sabha, in the UP elections to the fullest.

Neha Singh Rathore shot to fame in 2020 when the Modi government announced a total lockdown in the country. It was during this time that she released her rap song ‘Bihar Mein Kaa Baa’. With her latest chartbuster, she has brought up issues like dead bodies of COVID-19 victims flowing in the Ganga, unemployment, and the Lakhimpur Kheri tragedy of last year. Her song refers to the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in which Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister of Home Ajay Kumar Mishra, allegedly ran his vehicle over four farmers, among others, while they were marching in protest against the farm laws.

Also, much ahead of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, famous Bhojpuri singer and film actor Dinesh Lal Yadav had released a song in support of Yogi Adityanath. The song sends out the message that Yogi Adityanath is going to retain power in the state. in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Nirhua was a BJP candidate from Azamgarh and was pitted against Akhilesh Yadav.

Vulgarity in Bhojpuri songs, movies:

Meanwhile, coming to a raging and related issue, vulgarity in Bhojpuri songs and movies has brought about a bad name not only to the language but it has also raised alarms in the power echelons.

Even UP CM Yogi Adityanath has directed Uttar Pradesh Film Development Council to stop grants to any such Bhojpuri movies that promote obscenity and violence as this is causing adverse impact on the society, especially youngsters.

Similarly, Ravi Kishan had written a letter to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the state governments of UP and Bihar seeking a ban on vulgar content in Bhojpuri films.

In June last year, a complaint was registered against actor-singer Khesari Lal Yadav for allegedly producing vulgar songs and content. The case was registered against him in Mumbai by Sanatan Seva Foundation’s head Shri Surjeet Singh.

Dating back to the ’90s that coincided with the advent of the liberalisation, a slew of cassette companies cropped up and started minting money by bringing cheap and vulgar Bhojpuri songs into circulation.

Bhojpuri songs became a hit with a potential audience base of around 12 crore. As these songs were lapped by uneducated and semi-literate masses, the traditional songs in vogue back then, became virtually obsolete over a period of time. A new crop of Bhojpuri singers and writers ran roughshod over the beauty and originality of the Bhojpuri language and used it to mint money and gain cheap popularity, and even stardom.

Lyricists wrote vulgar songs to reach out to a larger audience while nobody cared to check the fall, remarked a film critic on the condition of anonymity.