E-2014: The Battle Lines

New Delhi: As election season has approached, politicians have become increasingly creative with not just speeches but also their jibes at fellow candidates. Ranging from senior national leaders to regional chiefs, everyone has added their 2 cents. Things have come so far that it is impossible to tell how this war of words started. With each passing day, new comments appear on television and it is only a matter of time before someone seriously oversteps the mark. We take a look at some of the wittier banter among India’s political class:

• “UPA government has a Recounting Minister. He lost (the election) but won in recounting.” Modi on Chidambaram’s 2009 re-election.
• “He (Modi) makes many false claims; I can also call him ‘encounter CM’.” –Chidambaram’s rebuttal.
• “Chidamabaram did the encounter of the Indian economy”-Modi perhaps had the last say on the matter.
• “What Modi knows about economics can be written on the back of a postage stamp.”- Chidambaram.
• “Rahul’s communication skills are at best modest. Let alone the average common citizen, his ability to inspire even the Congress cadre is questionable.”-Arun Jaitley on Rahul Gandhi’s leadership.
• “An American paper has presented a new model – of having one lakh rupees and converting that to Rs. 300 crore in four years. This is the RSVP model – Rahul, Sonia, Vadra and Priyanka.”-Modi targets the entire Gandhi family in one statement.
• “When we in the BJP chant Ram Ram, Congressman chant scam, scam”-Andhra Pradesh MLA and former Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu.
• “We say dynasty is nasty in politics. Congressman say dynasty is tasty.” – Venkaiah Naidu keeps the Congress baiting going.
• “The expansion of UPA is not United Progressive Alliance, but ulta-pulta alliance.”-Naidu vs Congress Part 3.
• “AAP is worried about red lights on vehicles but people are worried about streetlights.”- This time it’s AAP’s turn to be Naidu’s punchline.
• “A tea boy can become a PM but a man selling poisonous tea should not become one.”-JD(U) leader K C Tyagi.
• “He (Rahul) has shied away from being the PM candidate because he does not want to lose to a lower caste tea-vendor.”- Modi plays his humble beginnings card.
• “It’s like a nursery student, who after securing good marks is assuming himself to be a doctor and a PhD.”- Salman Khurshid on Modi and his clean chit from the Supreme Court.
• “Modi not on a white horse, he is Yamaraj on a buffalo.”-Rashid Alvi.
• “AAP is an item girl of Indian politics. Even Rakhi Sawant can govern better than AAP.”-Uddhav Thackeray.
• “3 AKs are very popular in Pakistan: AK-47, AK Antony & AK-49,”- Modi (AK-49 refers to Arvind Kejriwal’s term as Chief Minister of Delhi).
• “If you (Modi) are talking about women’s empowerment, don’t snoop on their conversations.”-Priyanka Gandhi mentions ‘SnoopGate.’
• “If he (Modi) hasn’t come before the election, you won’t see him after,”- Arvind Kejriwal on Modi standing from Varanasi.
• “Never seen such a fraud, Modi changes 500 kurtas a day and wears a new one to every election meeting.”-Mulayam Singh Yadav.
• “He (Modi) wants to become ‘chowkidar’ of Hindustan, Let me tell you, sometimes ‘chowkidar’ also steals.”-Rahul Gandhi.
• “They removed the Congress’ Hand symbol and pasted its Lotus symbol”- Rahul Gandhi describing BJP’s manifesto.
• “If the RSS has its way, they would file a defamation suit against Sardar Patel.”- Congress reply to RSS’ threat of suing Rahul Gandhi.