‘Show girls’ spice up poll campaign in Mewat hinterland

In a majority of the Assembly segments in Mewat region, mainly Nuh, Sohna and Palwal, huge gatherings are being witnessed in poll rallies, notwithstanding the hot and humid weather.

On one such sultry afternoon in Sohna, Mewati songs praising Congress candidate Rohtash Khatana can be heard a mile away. The venue is packed and hundreds of men are seen surrounding a blue-coloured tent. But make no mistake, they are not there to hear any political gyan. All they want to witness is the performance by a local dancing diva, Meera Rajput.

Along with her, there are 20 other girls, all dressed in bright yellow salwar suits, dancing vigorously to the tune of a self-composed song, which though praises how Khatana will turn around the constituency, the men aren’t complaining.

Meera, who originally hails from Aligarh, is well-known in this part of the state. Candidates from across parties hire her to pull the crowd at their rallies and add a dash of entertainment to break monotony in between political speeches.

“We usually charge Rs 7,000 for an hour’s performance. But with rising demand amid elections, we are charging anything between Rs 11,000 and Rs 25,000 per show. It all depends on the duration and type of crowd. In many parts of Mewat like Nagina and Hathin or Alwar in Rajasthan, men are rowdy. We charge more for performing in such areas as we need extra security. We have several packages. Either the parties give us their own songs or we compose for them in Mewati dialect,” said Meera, who has a YouTube channel with a good subscriber base.

Seema, another dancer, said, “We follow a strict security code. In political events, we usually wear salwar suits, the brighter the better. We don’t dress scantly, but do show the moves to keep men engaged till the leaders arrive. The songs are tacky, but that’s what people want to hear.

“Parties pay us to keep people engaged. We are not educated, but have families to feed. Our men send us to dance as they are assured that nobody can touch us.”

Junaid Khan, who runs an agency of dance performers, said while social media was now the preferred mode of campaigning for elections, entertainment shows were still popular in rural Mewat.