BJP or Congress, who hits the high notes?

The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have launched their theme songs for the election campaign, which naturally present a picture in contrast: while the BJP went with its “Modi-versus-All” pitch with more than a dash of hyper-nationalism, the Congress's anthem focused on political economy with basic minimum income and justice for all.

-- INDIA VOTES

As the election campaign heats up, here's how both the parties stack up -- musically.

>> BJP

With the tag line "Phir ek bar, Modi sarkar", the BJP unveiled its campaign highlights, which included the Modi government's "befitting" reply to terrorism by "hitting terrorists by entering enemy territory".

The BJP’s theme song, released by Union Minister Arun Jaitley, focusses on a “decisive and majority government” against “chaos and mahamilavat (adulterated alliance, a term for the Opposition coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi)”.

The song centres on Modi’s five-year performance -- with a special thrust on national security, honesty, ability to take big decisions -- besides targeting the Opposition for its alleged lack of cohesiveness.

Soon after its release, the 'Phir ek bar, Modi sarkar' song went viral on Twitter with it becoming a trending topic -- a clear sign of Modi's popularity among netizens.

>> Congress

Not to be left behind, the Congress's theme song -- 'Main hi toh Hindustan hoon' -- was released on Sunday, which is part of the party's 'Ab Hoga Nyay' campaign.

The lyrics of the song have been penned by Javed Akhtar, while campaign film has been directed by Nikkhil Advani and the cinematography is by Tushar Kanti Ray, the concept and script were provided by Anuja Chauhan, and the music was composed by Arjunna Harjai.         

The song takes a dig at Modi's demonetisation scheme and the government's decision to rename cities such as Allahabad. It also talks about providing the youth with jobs -- an issue that the Congress has been slamming the BJP for.