Donkey beats Elephant in UP poll!

2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly poll is undoubtedly as much about the common man’s agenda as it is about animals!

Perhaps it is the only election in the country, which is characterised by the top political leaders playing up themes weaved around four legged creatures, mostly domesticated and congenial varieties.

Inimitably, this poll has in the process popularised one of the most unglamourous animals to have walked this planet, the innocuous looking donkey, who brays without any rhyme or reason.

Elephant, the election symbol of Mayawati ‘behanji’ led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), has erstwhile been the ‘resident’ animal for most frequent direct references in election speeches in this part of the country during elections.

However, the humble donkey has browbeaten the mammoth creature by a handsome margin to trend as the top ranked animal, both in real time canvassing and also virtually over social media platforms.

Donkey, first broke into the popularity chart, when UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav during one of his election rallies in the ongoing electioneering invoked it to slur his biggest adversary and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) mascot Narendra Modi.

Akhilesh made explicit reference to a Gujarat Tourism TV ad featuring Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, wherein the Millennium Actor had through his baritone voice exhorted tourists to visit the Gujarat wildlife reserve famous for un-harnessed donkeys.

The UP CM advised Bachchan to refrain from associating with such ads, which were centred around donkeys of Gujarat. This rather unwitting statement, which subsequently proved to be a guffaw, was reckoned as distasteful and below the belt by the skeptics and social media hawks.

Much to his chagrin, Modi later took the caustic comment in his stride and instead used it to flay Akhilesh, saying the UP CM was now even scared of donkeys inhabiting hundreds of kilometres away.

Ever since, the donkey analogy has made regular appearances in the political discourses and election speeches. It has evoked cryptic reactions, inspired TV spoofs, cartoons and what not.

To add more glory to this list, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi has now discovered another mammal to correlate his political message by invoking rat to target Modi. Gandhi, who is in line to take over as the Congress’ president, said Modi’s heart was as fragile as a rat.

Even as the UP poll advances towards conclusion, voters can safely look forward to more such hilarious sounding similes and metaphors…taking direct inspiration from animals!!!