Hyderabad: Poll-wary parties unleash poster blitz at Ganesh pandals

Hyderabad : The city’s political landscape is ablaze with fervour during this election season, as parties spare no effort to captivate voters. The recent 10-day Ganapati festivities became a battleground for political parties, engaging in an intense poster war as they vie for support in the upcoming Assembly polls. The Ganesh pandals and procession routes were not just venues for celebrating the deity but also witnessed a monumental clash of posters and campaign materials from competing political parties.

The grandeur of the Ganesh festival has ignited the political fervor this year, especially with Telangana heading for polls later this year. Politicians have been swift to seize the moment, making the most of the festivities by transforming them into a political arena, where they fervently vie for public attention and support during the Ganapati celebrations

The Ganesh festival this year has seen political rivalry reaching unprecedented heights, with political leaders capitalising on the large gatherings at Ganesh pandals and along the Ganesh Shobha Yatra route. These leaders have erected massive cut-outs and banners featuring themselves as candidates and their respective political parties. While the ruling BRS party and opposition parties like Congress and BJP are all actively participating, critics, including social activists and devotees, have voiced their concerns over the excessive expenditure on political banners and posters. Many argue that these leaders should be addressing the real problems faced by the people instead of engaging in this poster-war politics.

Observers have noted that various Ganesh pandals and the procession routes are adorned with enormous banners, posters, and cut-outs, shifting the focus away from the religious and spiritual aspects of the festival. This commercialisation of the festival for political gains has left some devotees disheartened. Venkatesh, a sixty-year-old visitor to the Khairtabad Bada Ganesh Pandal, expressed his disappointment, stating that when visiting the pandal to seek blessings from Ganpati Bappa, it feels more like visiting a political party office due to the overwhelming presence of banners and posters from different political parties.

Another devotee, Divya Kathri, a teen said, “The parties like BRS, Congress and BJP spent lakhs of rupees in erecting banners to woo the voters, but they might have spent money on providing much better arrangements to devotees visiting the pandal.” Khairtabad Ganesh witnesses the devotees in lakhs and this cannot be missed by our political parties in this poster-war,” she added.

Ganesh pandals in other areas like Saidabad, Lal Darwaza, Begum Bazar, Ameerpet, Kukatpally and other areas also witnessed the similar scene. The respective division party leader or the candidate erected massive posters. The Mozzam Jahi market is said to be the centre hub of Shobha Yatra. The entire area was covered with massive banners of political leaders and parties. The cadreswere more confident and enthusiastic to do anything for their parties

“The political parties in the city have realised very well that the best arena to convince the masses before the Assembly elections is the state. Ganesh procession, the place that witnessed a footfall of over 5 lakh people, and it is the time to showcase themselves,” said Raj Kiran, a resident of Begum Bazar.