Airing out Amarnath

The 8216;Nirmal8217; in the new lyrics refers to the former state president of the BJP and its candidate for the Gandhi Nagar Assembly constituency, Prof Nirmal Singh. 8220;We wanted to keep the original song, 8216;Bam Bam Bole8217;, but the Election Commission objected to it. This is why we had to change the lyrics,8221; said Singh, who was closely involved with the production of the advertisement as well as the song, right from picking the singer to the lyricist. Needless to say, only dedicated supporters of the agitation qualified for the role.

The singer, for one, is passionate about the issue and had approached Nirmal Singh to propose that he would do the singing.

8220;Police action in the land transfer to the Amarnath Shrine Board was horrible. I heard that the police tried to douse the dead body of Kuldeep Verma with wine. Kuldeep laid down his life for the transfer of land to the shrine board,8221; said Surinder Singh Manhas, a curly-haired young man of 34 who works as an audio engineer with Big 92.7 FM and is also a music director and playback singer.

A strong BJP supporter, Manhas claims he got so nervous, he thought he couldn8217;t sing on the day of the recording. 8220;I thought it was all gone, but Prof Nirmal Singh was particular that I should sing for the commercial. So I prayed before the picture of Ma Saraswati, had a glass of water and managed to do it.8221; He added, 8220;When the commercial was finally released four days after, I saw it had gone very well.8221;

Lyricist Pyasa Anjum is also a BJP supporter. 8220;The 8216;Bam Bam Bole8217; song inspired the people during the agitation. BJP leaders like Prof Nirmal Singh strived to meet the needs of the people of Jammu. He went to jail as well in support of the agitation.8221;

Pleased as it may be with its efforts, the BJP is facing criticism for trying to cash in on the emotions that ran high during nearly two-month-long agitation and for attempting to recreate the emotionally charged atmosphere of the time. The agitation had been called off by the Shri Amarnath Yatra Sangharsh Samiti SAYSS on August 31 after Jammu witnessed some of its worst incidents of communal violence.

State BJP president Ashok Khajuria insisted, 8220;We want to only convey right information through the television commercials. People are free to relate or not relate to it.8221; But there is no doubting the fact that the BJP is using the far-reaching medium of television in an unprecedented way.

8220;The BJP is spending a lot on the TV commercials. In fact, the BJP first started political commercials. All other political parties followed the trend. In the 2002 elections, only the TV scrolls of 8216;vote for and support the candidate8217; were run, but in these elections revenue from political advertisements is more than ever before,8221; said Rajinder Arora, additional managing director of J and K Media Network Private Ltd.

According to sources in a local TV channel, the BJP has to shell out around Rs 2,000 a day for short ads that last between 30 seconds to one minute. These are telecast seven to eight times a day. 8220;The party pays about Rs 5,000 a day for longer ads. These are about 10 minutes long and are broadcast twice a day,8221; they added.

Sources said that as per the prescribed rates, parties have to pay between Rs 10,000 to 30,000 to shoot the ads, depending on their length. Camerapersons are hired both locally and from outside the state.

8220;If some additional shots are required, they are arranged by the political parties on their own,8221; informed Arora. 8220;For a three-minute ad, shooting can take up to three days and some of the shots were even arranged by the political party,8221; said a local cameraman who did not want to be named.

The BJP, of course, believes that it8217;s all worth the time and money. 8220;Television advertisements help a lot, but they are to be further aided by the door-to-door campaigns and public meetings,8221; said a BJP candidate.