Delhi polls: Parties fight pitched battles on radio channels

NEW DELHI: The political battle in Delhi is being fought not just on the ground but even in the air. Most private radio channels are flooded with advertisements and jingles from political parties.

While BJP and AAP lead the trend, Congress too is using the medium to reach out to the masses and has recently also started a radio campaign.

"Almost every song being played on radio channels is ending with a political ad. It can be a jingle or brief message," said a radio jockey who did not want to be named. Earlier, the medium was extensively used by AAP for campaigning. This time, even BJP is competing to get maximum space on air.

"People usually listen to radio while driving. There is no distraction as in the case of watching TV so the impact of radio ads is higher. It is cost-effective too," said Praveen Shankar Kapoor, the media in-charge of Delhi BJP. He said they are running 12 radio jingles and messages, and will come up with more. "Our jingle-Meri dilli ko thoda sa pyaar chahiye, kaam karne wali Modi sarkaar chahiye-is getting the maximum response," he added.

The radio ads cost anywhere between Rs 400 and Rs 2,000 per 10 seconds, depending on the channel's reach and the slot being asked for. The ads that come immediately after a song ends are the costliest. "The youth, who are a target audience, switch channels if there are continuous ads. We started this trend of using the space right after a song to pitch our jingles and messages in 2013 elections. Now all advertisers want those slots," said Durgesh Pathak, an AAP spokesperson. He said their ads are aired mostly between 7-11am and 5-8 pm to tap maximum listeners.

While most of the radio ads by AAP focus on their development agenda and their vision for Delhi, in one of the messages

Arvind Kejriwal is heard explaining, almost apologetically, the reasons for quitting from the government in 49 days. "Mataji, I did not run away. I will be back soon to serve you. Please bless me and have faith in me. Ab naarazgi chodiye aur thoda muskura dijiye (Please don't stay angry. Smile a little)," he could be heard saying in the jingle.

The jingle was Kejriwal's response to a BJP radio ad in which an old woman could be heard complaining about her day-to-day problems because she had voted for AAP. The woman says that even after she voted for him, he deserted people of Delhi and ran away from power.

"There is no sparring. We are only trying to expose these manufacturers of lies (referring to AAP)," said Kapoor.