"Na jhuthi batein, na jhuthen wadein"

"Jaat ka na paat ka, sankalp hai vikas ka".

"Sabko dekha bar-bar, humko dekhe ek bar"

"Hum wadein nahi karte, irade rakhte hain, hum nayi soch nayi ummeed rakhte hain"

These are some of the poster messages put up by councillor hopefuls this year. With the Patna Municipal Corporation councillor polls scheduled on May 28, the hopefuls have waged a poster war across the city.

Sitting councillors and hopefuls have come up with banners in the busy thoroughfares as well as the small lanes in the city.

Some have put up interesting one or two liners to attract voters. While through catchy slogans, some have tried to mock the sitting councillors who failed to fulfil the promises made to the voters, some have taken the poster route to tell the electorate about issues they would address once they win the elections.

Raziya Sultana, who is contesting the elections for the first time and that too from the sitting mayor's ward (number-52 has been reserved for women candidates this time) has put up posters in which she is taking a dig at the unfulfilled promises of the mayor.

Raziya happens to be muscleman Muntazeer Alam's wife. Muntazeer admitted that the two liners " Na jhuti batein , na jhuthen wadein", "jaat ka na paat ka, sankalp hai vikas ka" have been added intentionally in the poster for the campaigning of his wife Raziya.

"You go and ask people in the ward. They would tell you about the unfulfilled promises of the mayor. The mayor has only made promises but forgot to fulfil them and the two lines are indicative of the fact," he said.

Mayor Afzal Imam, who is fielding his wife Mehjabeen Shaheen this election from the ward, however, has not put up any poster for the campaigning of his wife yet.

"We don't need to put up posters. People here know me and my work very well. I am sure that like me, my wife would also win the election by defeating her opponent by thousands of votes. As far as I am concerned, I have been winning the councillor election for the past 15 years and for the last three years, I have been getting the highest number of votes (around 8,000). I am sure my wife would meet the same fate," Imam said, adding that he would put up posters for his wife after she files her nomination paper.

On new people taking jibes at his work, Imam said: "Almost all work in my ward is complete. The newbies want to attract attention of voters by including punchlines in their posters, which hardly have any real meaning."

Prasun Kumar, a cable operator contesting the elections first time from ward number-35, the one where his wife Pushpa Singh is the councillor, has put up posters with the message "Ward-35 ke janta ki mang par bhavi pratyashi" (The aspiring candidate of ward number-35 on people's demand).

Prasun said he had got a survey done by reaching out to people through Facebook and WhatsApp in which he sought their advices on who should contest from the ward this time - whether he or his wife.

According to Prasun, since most of the votes were in his favour, he decided to contest the elections this time and this is why he wrote in the poster " janta ki mang par bhavi pratyashi".

"I have put up my posters at 15 places in the ward. I will also distribute pamphlets with the help of children among my prospective voters. The pamphlets will have smart messages in two lines in tune with current affairs. Recently Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath said Yoga and Namaz is quite similar. I am going to use Yogis works and statements in catchy two liners and frame them for my pamphlets to attract voters," said Prasun.

Vinay Kumar Pappu, the councillor of ward number-28 who is contesting the elections from the same ward, however, has not spent a single penny on posters. He is rather doing his campaigning on Facebook.

"I am sharing information about the new works, which I am doing in the ward these days. Besides, I am sharing the details of the new schemes of the corporation so that people can benefit from them. People would definitely love it if they find their ward councillor is knowledgeable about the schemes," said Pappu.

Abha Lata, the councillor of ward number-4 who is contesting the elections from ward number-8, too, has intensified her campaigning on Facebook than on posters. Though she has put up posters, she has abstained from being catchy to take digs at her opponents. She has not even mentioned the issues she wants to address if she is elected.

Her Facebook page, however, is interesting. Apart from giving details of her work as a councillor, she has also uploaded two Bhojpuri songs on her page, promoting herself for the councillor's post for the elections.

"Ward number-8 mein abki ehe bahala hoi...Abha Lataii parshad bani sabse pyara ho," goes the line of one of the songs she had uploaded on her Facebook page.