By Madhusree Chatterjee
Jamshedpur, Nov 26 (IANS) Younger politicians in Jharkhand are shedding khadi for denims and other forms of western wear while campaigning for the ongoing state assembly polls.

Banna Gupta of the Congress, or independents Sailesh Verma or Anand Bihari Dubey, candidates from two assembly constituencies in this steel city, have opted for office shirts, denims or trousers and chinos while campaigning.

Samar Khan, the Congress candidate from Bahragora in East Singhbhum district, moved around in a formal workday shirt, spiffy trousers and a woollen waistcoat.

“I cannot be encumbered by the formality of khadi. It is difficult to wash, starch and iron white khadi every day. This region is so dusty,” Khan responded to IANS when asked why he had “eschewed the traditional khadi” worn by his father Shibu Khan, who was a legislator and minister in Bihar before Jharkhand was carved out of it.

Independent candidate Sailesh Verma, who heads a Jamshedpur-based coaching institute, said he did not feel it necessary to tailor new outfits for campaigning.

“I want voters to elect me for my traits and not for my personal style and charisma,” he said. Verma campaigned in T-shirts, denims and loafers. He feels his casual attire helped him connect to the youth.

Dubey walked around the city seeking votes in his sports shoes much of the time, matching them with casual shirts and denims.

“I am more comfortable in western clothes,” he said.

Banna Gupta of the Congress, who has changed his party colours five times, feels “dressing like a politician does not make a difference”. He moves around in western clothes.

“I do not like the khadi clothes worn by the politicians of yesteryears,” Arun Yadav, the former East Singhbhum Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) president, who joined the Congress recently, told IANS.

The politician, who usually wears khadi shirts with chinos and sports shoes minus socks, has made his Maruti Zen a trendy home away from home.

“I am on the wheel for at least 18 hours a day,” says Yadav, who has installed an LCD screen in his car to catch the latest Bollywood hits in between campaign stops and has a hi-tech car stereo which belts out his “favourite rock bands”.

Hundreds of Congress, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), All-Jharkhand Students’ Union and Jharkhand Vikas Manch workers — mostly in their 20s and 30s — who were seen campaigning in Ranchi, Jamshedpur and the coal mine centre Dhanbad throughout the month, sported denims, bright T-shirts with imprints of party candidates, light cotton shirts and designer sun shades.

The motorbikes on which they cruised with party flags were the latest Yamaha, Suzuki and Enfield models.

They were armed with wireless, satellite phones, Blackberrys and expensive cell phones with web cameras and Internet. “These gadgets are cutting their teeth this election,” Ranjan Pandey, an RJD worker in Dhanbad, told IANS.

The motorcades of politicians consisted of the latest SUV models — a fetish with tribal leaders in Jharkhand. Rough estimates suggest that senior tribal leaders have three SUVs on an average. Scam-tainted former chief minister Madhu Koda showered his acolytes with expensive cars.

The natty local campaigners were a contrast to visiting VIPs like Rahul Gandhi — who stuck to traditional khadi; Bollywood star Shatrughan Sinha, and RJD chief Laloo Yadav whose style statements were “old world and khadi”.

The 50-odd women candidates in the fray are dowdy in comparison to men.

Sari is the style statement. The drapes are mostly cotton and synthetics with matching bindis, bangles and hair in schoolmistress buns.

Some older politicians do stick to the sartorial styles they have become used to. JMM founder Shibu Soren sticks to his cotton kurtas and pyjamas.

Bagun Sumbrui, the 75-year-old tribal candidate from Chaibasa in West Singhbhum and one of the pillars of the Kolhan (Kol tribal) autonomy movement, still sports a bare torso and a knee-length dhoti. Occasionally, he carries a bow and arrow.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)