There is a hint of sarcasm in the melodious rendering of Rahul Ram's new song "chunaav ka mahina" - a parody of "sawan ka mahina" from the 1967 film "Milan" - that hit YouTube recently.As "chunaav ka mahina he mach gaya chor, phir aaya he time to choose who will screw us more" (This is election month and amid the brouhaha is your time to choose who will be the best among the worst) starts playing, the song makes you laugh and also think what the Indian democracy has to offer to the common people.There is also a warning about how the political discourse hit a new low when Congress President Rahul Gandhi bragged about being a brahmin or other leaders spread hate."Chunaav Ka Mahina" spares none - not even Mayawati or Mamata Banerjee for their ambition to capture power, not desire to serve people.Melody, however, is not the only theme in the parody songs doing the rounds on social media as elections inch closer.The success of "Apna Time Aayega" from the film "Gully Boy" has set the tone for raps this election season.If the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unleashed the "Congress se Azadi" rap on social media last month, Congress came up with its own response, using the same song soon after.
While memes citing Rahul Gandhi's "aaloo dalo, sona niklega" has become a rage on WhatsApp, a meme pointing to Priyanka Gandhi's resemblance to the character Tamraj Kilvish in the TV series "Shaktimaan" is also tickling the funny bones of social media users.The release of the trailer of the "PM Narendra Modi" biopic has also opened the gates to a deluge of memes surrounding Modi. "Ma mai sanyasi bab na chahta hu (mother, I want to become a monk)" is now one of the most mocked about monologue on social media.Rahul Gandhi and Modi are the central characters in most of the funny videos and memes circulated on social media.Missing from the action is Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who was the main target of meme makers in 2014 for his muffler-covered face and cough.As the humour and the witty commentary in the speeches of the politicians gradually take a back seat, these parody songs and memes offer social media users occasional relief from the serious election talks.With more than a month for the elections in the world's largest democracy to end, it is expected that the circulation of the funny stuff will only increase in the coming days.