Santali paeans by Congress to woo tribal voters

Baripada, Jan 29 (UNI) The Congress in Orissa has started singing Santali paeans in the tribal-dominated Mayurbhanj district during the Panchayat election campaign to woo voters.

Santali poet-cum-lyricist-cum-singer has composed eight such campaign-oriented Santali songs to lure the rural voters infavour of the congress the party.

Sushil, who had an extra-ordinary flair in creating Santali songs since his early twenties, had given a political fusion to his lyrical creations.

According to him, a Santali film called ''Hiyera Ari Chali'' produced by Prem Marandi of ''Misti Baha Films'' could attract more viewers in a Rairangpur Cinema Hall in the district than what the super hit Hindi film-''Sholay'' could do.

A former front-ranking All Jharkhand Students Union(AJSU) leader and ex-chairman of Bahalda Panchayat Samiti, Sushil is now a vice-president of Mayurbhanj District Congress Committee. He had planned to make a foot-march (Padayatra) in the countryside in Bamanghaty sub-division singing the Santali paeans to add momentum to the Congress' rural poll campaign.

District Congress Committee leader Harihar Mohanta claimed that Sushil's paeans would pay rich dividend for Congress in Bamanghaty subdivision better known as a ''bastion'' of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in the district.

Santhals constituted single largest homogeneous tribal group in the district accounting for nearly 25 per cent of the total tribal population, sources said.

UNI