Electoral manifestos play a crucial role in outlining the visions of a party for the country or state. While national and state elections receive more focus, panchayat and local body elections appear to receive less attention. Panchayat elections are celebrated in India as a symbol of grassroots democracy. These local-level polls can provide profound insights into grassroots problems, but they can also occasionally make people laugh heartily.
This was demonstrated by the election poster-cum-manifesto of one of the candidates running for the position of sarpanch in Sirsadh village of Haryana. The campaign poster for candidate Jaikaran Lathwal will undoubtedly catch your attention.
IPS officer Arun Bothra posted the image of the now-viral poster online. He captioned the post, "Am shifting to this village (with a laughing emoji)"
A glance at the poster gives the impression of being a typical election campaign banner. A closer inspection reveals it to be anything but that. Jaikaran Lathwal advertises himself as an educated, diligent, honest, and determined person in the first half of the poster. The candidate has worked, will work, and will respect everyone, according to the slogan.
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According to the poster, if Lathwal is elected, he will start construction on building three airports in the hamlet and reduce petrol prices to Rs 20/litre, and gas cylinders to Rs 100. As if that weren't enough, he added that he would eliminate Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The list of promises goes on and on. The candidate, pictured in a pink shirt with folded hands, will reportedly arrange for a slew of freebies, including free wi-fi, makeup kits for all women, free bikes for every family, and even a bottle of liquor a day for those who are addicted to it! A metro line from Sirsadh to Delhi, and helicopter services from the village to Gohana every five minutes, would provide connectivity (aside from the three airports).
It's unclear whether Lathwal's poster drew any votes. However, it has elicited laughter on Twitter.