Slogans that have changed electoral battles

Slogans often set the tone for big electoral battles in India. For these coming Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has picked the rallying cry of Main Bhi Chowkidar (I'm a Guard too) and Namumkin Ab Mumkin Hai (Impossible is Now Possible). Here are some known and not-so-well-known electorally successful one-liners from the recent past:

• Nehruvin Magale Varuga, Nilayana Aatchi Tharuga

(Welcome, Nehru's Daughter. Give Us a Stable Government)

Poet and politician M Karunanidhi had coined the phrase for the 1980 Tamil Nadu assembly polls, for which the DMK had tied up with the Congress. The alliance subsequently won a landslide.

• Teluguvari Atma Gauravam

(Telugu People's Self-Respect)

These lines were used by filmstar NT Rama Rao in 1982 as he plunged into politics and took on the Congress. His Telugu Desam Party (TDP) went on to win the 1983 Andhra Pradesh assembly polls.

• Keram Thingum Kerala Naatil KR Gouri Bharicheedum

(KR Gouri Will Rule The Land Of Coconut Trees)

In 1987, the CPI-M in Kerala fought the assembly polls with this slogan, pitching the name of party leader KR Gouri Amma as front runner for the chief minister's post. But when the Left won, it chose EK Nayanar over Gouri Amma!

• Mile Mulayam-Kanshi Ram, Hawa Ho Gaye Jai Shri Ram

(When Mulayam & Kanshiram Come Together, Jai Shri Ram Vanishes)

The slogan for the alliance between the Mulayam Singh's SP and Kanshi Ram's BSP targetted the BJP's Ram Temple campaign a year after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. The coalition won the UP assembly elections in 1993.

• Sabko Dekha Bari Bari, Abki Bari Atal Bihari

(We've Seen Everyone One By One, Now It's Atal Bihari's Turn)

This was the BJP's election campaign slogan in 1996 as it sought to defeat the Congress at the Centre. The line seems to have struck a chord. Vajpayee did become the prime minister, but only for 13 days.

• Ma, Mati, Manush

(Mother, Land, People)

The three words became synonymous with the Trinamool Congress' battle to displace the Left Front from power after three decades in West Bengal in the 2011 assembly elections.

• Jobu Kavalante Babu Ravali

(If You Want Jobs, Naidu Should Come To Power)

This was Chandrababu Naidu's pitch for the 2014 assembly and general elections soon after the state of Telangana was carved out of Andhra Pradesh. The TDP-BJP alliance won both the elections.

• Neengal Seivergalaa?

(Will You Do It?)

More a refrain than a slogan, J Jayalalithaa repeatedly asked her voters to support the AIADMK in the 2014 general elections. The party bagged 37 of the 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu.

• Paanch Saal Kejriwal

(Kejriwal for Five Years)

The AAP's slogan for the 2015 Delhi assembly elections tried to assure voters that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party would not relinquish power like it did in 2013 after failing to find support for its Jan Lokpal Bill. The party subsequently won 67 of the 70 seats.