Shahjahanpur (UP), Feb 2 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, seeking his re-election for the ninth time from the Shahjahanpur City, has taken a lyrical path to seek the vote and support of his electors.
In his novel venture, Khanna has taken the help of the lyrics of poet Pradeep “hum layen hain toofan se kashti nikal ke, mere desh ke bachchon tum ise rakhna sambhal ke”, scripted for the 1954 film Jagriti and sung by Mohammed Rafi.
Based on the lyrics of this popular patriotic song, Khanna has composed his own song to appeal to the people to keep Uttar Pradesh safe from the vices of crime, terrorism, casteism, regionalism and dynasticism.
“Is kshetra ko rakhna mere mirton sambhal ke, hum laye hai apradh se UP nikaal ke… atankvad, kshetravad, jatiwad ko, humne kiya parast pariwarwad ko… behka na de vikas se koi dhoke me daal ke… is kshetra ko rakhna mere mitron sambhal ke. Tumhi bhavishya ho mere UP vishal ke ….,” goes the words of the Hindi song, being used and sung by Khanna.
Woven around the BJP’s apparent poll campaign theme targeting its key rival Samajwadi Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the song appeals to the people to save UP from various maladies, cautioning against anyone beguiling them to allow UP’s derailment from development.
Khanna, the veteran politician and state’s minister for Parliamentary Affairs, has even taken up the cudgel of singing his unique song from the dais to the rapt attention and clapping of the audience with the video of his act going viral on social media.
The video also shows Jitin Prasada who recently quit the Congress and became a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government sitting at the dais.
Khanna also addresses the audience later, emphasising how UP has begun a new inning of development and modernisation in the last five years of the Yogi Aditynath government, ridding the state of the vices of mafia, casteism, communalism and regionalism.
He also appeals to the voters to ensure his ninth victory.
The Samajwadi Party has pitted its district president Tanveer Khan against Khanna while Congress has fielded Aasha worker Poonam Pandey who had led an agitation demanding a raise in honorarium for them.
Pandey had also hit headlines after allegedly being roughed up by police during a programme of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here. The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded Sarvesh Mishra from here.
The Shahjahanpur City goes to polls on February 14 in the first phase of the seven-phase UP assembly polls. PTI CORR SAB RAX RAX
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