‘Human posters’ who add colour to political rallies

DEHRADUN

: Deewan Singh Chhetri, 64, who rides with a 4-foot cardboard cut-out of PM Modi on his bike hasn’t been to a barber’s since 2014. A die-hard fan of Narendra Modi, Chhetri, an ex-Armyman, says he will not shave or get a haircut till the PM returns to power this year. Chhetri is among the several characters who are adding colour to political campaigns in this poll season and are becoming ‘mini-celebrities’ for supporters of the parties that they endorse.


Chhetri for instance is a hot favourite at BJP rallies and people can often be seen clicking selfies with him and his Modi cutout. Chhetri says he became a Modi supporter after the Prime Minister launched the “One Rank One Pension” scheme. “Congress ka ek hi mudda hai, kursi pao to desh ko loot dalo aur nahi pao to desh me phoot dalo (Congress has only one motto, rob the country if you come to power and destroy it if you don’t)” says Chhetri, who rides his bike 40 km daily to spread his message of voting Modi to power.

Manoj Jakhmola, 32, is another hot favourite at political rallies. Jakhmola is a ‘human poster’ who paints his body in saffron colours with a giant lotus on his chest. He says he became a Modi supporter as schemes launched by the Prime Minister, including Swachh Bharat, impressed him.

Jakhmola is a daily wager, who says that his ‘human poster’ stint also helps him earn a little extra at political rallies. He lives with his parents in

Kotdwar

and says he got the idea of painting his body from cricket fans.

Interestingly, unlike Chhetri, Jakhmola is not a die-hard BJP fan. He also attended Rahul Gandhi’s rally painted in colours of the Congress, but says he won’t attend another Congress rally since he didn’t get paid for it as promised.

“My first political rally was one of Narendra Modi’s in Dehradun in 2014. I got so many cheers and BJP members even paid me. In 2017, I appeared again at a Modi rally and they paid me my travel expenses. But I haven’t had such an experience at Congress rallies.”