Range of patriotic sarees released as Indian election date set
The saree is being deployed as the latest political weapon in India’s elections as the world’s largest democracy prepares to go to the polls.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unveiled a collection of “political sarees”, hoping the women’s garments will act as mobile billboards for voters making up their minds in coming weeks.
India’s election commission announced on Sunday that the country’s electorate, numbering over 900 million, will go to the polls in seven phases between 11 April to 19 May, with results due on 23 May.
So the first big campaigning stunt by the incumbent BJP was to launch the new line of sarees, featuring pictures of Indian soldiers, fighter jets and Narendra Modi, the prime minister, printed on them.
They were unveiled on Sunday at the state BJP headquarters in Jaipur, Rajasthan, hoping a recent rise in nationalism after the recent conflicts with Pakistan would spur party supporters to literally wear their loyalties.
Last week “air-strike” sarees, in shades of cream, saffron and green, as well as camouflage ones, became popular as the Indian government’s fiery rhetoric saw jingoistic tendencies soar.
However several patriotic saree vendors were left embarrassed after tweeters pointed out that their garments bore images of American forces, not Indian.
The sarees however may end up falling foul of the “model code of conduct” that exists during election periods - similar to “purdah” in Britain.
The election commission on Saturday asked to keep the military out of campaigning, saying the armed forces are "apolitical and neutral stakeholders in a modern democracy".
The memo, which was sent to all parties, was issued after billboards featuring BJP leaders such as Mr Modi and its president, Amit Shah, along with the Indian Air Force pilot Abhinandan Varthaman, appeared around Delhi.
"Everything is possible under PM Modi," the billboards read. Just after the election dates were announced, Mr Modi tweeted: “The festival of democracy, Elections are here."
“I urge my fellow Indians to enrich the 2019 Lok Sabha [Indian parliament] elections with their active participation. I hope this election witnesses a historic turnout.
“I particularly call upon first time voters to vote in record numbers.”
The Prime Minister had kept an intense schedule of launches and openings in the last fortnight as his administration tried to announce several policies and schemes before the code of conduct period was triggered.
