As BJP chants Phir ek baar..., Congress pitches on Nyay theme

With just four days to go for the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections, the ruling BJP and the main Opposition party Congress on Sunday unveiled their publicity campaigns – the campaign themes and campaign slogans.

While 'Phir ek baar Modi sarkar' (Modi government once again) is the BJP's campaign slogan, the Congress's campaign slogan reads 'Ab Hoga Nyay' (Now there will be justice).

NYAY is also the acronym for the Congress's proposed minimum income guarantee scheme Nyuntam Aay Yojana, promised in its manifesto.

The BJP's campaign song is 'Chalo phir ek baar ham Modi Sarkar banate hain, chalo milkar saath aae desh ko badhate hain (Let's elect the Modi government again, let's come together to help the nation moving forward). The party has not disclosed who has penned the lyrics for the song.

Nyay, anyay mitaneke liye utha ek tufan hun. Mein Hindustan hun. Ab hoga nyay. (Justice is a cyclone to end the injustice. I am India. Now there will be justice). This is the campaign song of the Congress.

While well-known Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar penned the lyrics for the Congress's campaign song, the campaign video has been filmed by popular director-producer Nikkhil Advani. Advertising firm Percept Edge is the agency behind the campaign.

Senior BJP leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley released the party's campaign slogan, campaign song, at BJP's central office in Delhi, while giving a glimpse of the party's campaign theme. The BJP is scheduled to release its manifesto on Monday.

Jaitley, the head of party's Publicity Committee, said BJP's campaign is largely themed around four aspects. "First, the nation wants a government which can really work. The Modi government took the reins of the country in 2014, an era of Congress's corruption and soon successfully altered the political culture," he said.

"Second, while emphasising the fact that the nation wants a honest government, the BJP campaign theme will highlight how the Modi government has worked for all sections of society," Jaitley said.

"Third, it will highlight the decisiveness of the government on the issues of development and national security. It will further emphasise that only a strong leadership can take decisive actions," he said.

"Fourth, there is a need for a decisive leader and majority government. In the last five years, there is a majority government where the BJP is a stable nucleus and the NDA constituents are standing firm behind it representing the federal structure," the Finance Minister said.

"In a nutshell, the elections will be a fight between a cohesive government of PM Modi and chaos and mahamilawat offered by the Opposition," Jaitley said.

Releasing the Congress's manifesto, at AICC headquarters in Delhi, head of party's Publicity Committee Anand Sharma alleged that there a "sense of despair" and "an atmosphere of anyay (injustice)" prevailing in the country under the Modi government.

"There is an environment of fear. There are subversions of democratic institutions and assaults on the foundational values of the Constitution," he said.

Sharma explained, "Nyay (justice) is not just a word. There is a cry for justice in this country. The youth want justice in terms of employment. The women want justice in terms of safety and empowerment. The farmers want justice with right price for their produce. Therefore, the Congress campaign focuses on justice and this embraces all."

Both the national parties will run their publicity campaign across platforms –print, electronic and digital. The Congress is using thousands of big container trucks which will criss-cross the country carrying party's campaign theme.