JAI HO FOR STABLE INDIA -www.stableindia.com

India's governing Congress party has acquired the rights to Jai Ho - the Oscar-winning song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Party officials say the song will be used as part of the election campaign to publicise Congress achievements.

The general election in India will take place between 16 April and 13 May. Counting is due on 16 May.

British director Danny Boyle's Slumdog, based in the slums of the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay), won eight Oscars.

'Performed well'

Bollywood composer AR Rahman and lyricist Gulzar won the Best Song Oscar for Jai Ho, literally meaning victory.

With its catchy tune and uplifting lyrics, Jai Ho has become immensely popular with the public in India.

Congress Party spokesman Manish Tiwari told the BBC the achievements of the government deserved to be saluted and the song best explained that.

"Our party has performed well, be it in governance or in its pro-poor policies," Mr Tiwari said.

But a senior leader of the main opposition Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Prakash Javdekar, told Reuters news agency: "This song will ensure their defeat because it will remind every Indian that millions of people still have to stay in slums because of faulty Congress policies."

Congress officials and T-Series - which holds the song's copyright - are tight-lipped about the amount of money that has been paid for the song.

Popular Bollywood numbers are often re-jigged by political parties in India to convey their message to voters.

Words set to popular film tunes can often be heard blaring from loudspeakers at election rallies.

At the forthcoming polls, the main contest is expected to be between Congress and the BJP.

If no group wins a clear majority, the smaller regional parties could play a crucial role.

JAIHO FOR CONGRESS PARTY

JAIHO!from Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire will be the Congress's theme song as it seeks to renew its mandate in the Lok Sabha polls by selling the "saga of hope for the common man" - the aam aadmi who had hoisted the party to power in 2004.

The party has bought the rights to A.R. Rahman's song from Danny Boyle's film and the tune from music company T-Series, said a senior leader.

"We'll be using the song exclusively to reach out to the people to convey the message that the Congress-led government has been a saga of hope for the common man," he said.

Jai ho will be used to hardsell the Congress's achievements, its ability to provide stability amid growing instability in the neighbourhood and its effective handling of the challenges posed by the economic meltdown, global oil prices and terror strikes.

It is not the first time the Congress will be hoping to gain from the success of a film. The party had earlier hitched its campaign in Gujarat to Chak De! the hit film starring Shah Rukh Khan. That experiment had failed

JAIHO

India's Congress party has bought the exclusive rights to Jai Ho, the Oscar-winning tune from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, for nearly $200,000 US.

The country's governing party plans to use the song by Bollywood composer A.R. Rahman to boost its campaign in the upcoming general elections.

About 714 million people will vote between April 16 and May 13.

Party leaders said the song will be played during rallies in rural towns, villages and cities across the country. With its catchy tune and uplifting lyrics, the song has become immensely popular with the people of India.

"It should be on television and radio in a few hours," Harindra Singh, vice-chair and managing director of Congress's advertising firm Percept, told the BBC on Thursday.

Slumdog Millionaire won eight Oscars at the Academy Awards last month, and Jai Ho won the Oscar for best song.

Hindi for "Let there be victory," the song was used at the end of the film when the two main characters led a Bollywood dance in Mumbai's main train station.

Popular Bollywood songs are often reworked by India's political parties to convey their message to voters, and can be heard blaring from loudspeakers at election rallies. However, this is the first time a party has bought exclusive rights to use a song.

But India's opposition parties are calling Congress's use of Jai Ho an election gimmick that could backfire.

"This song will ensure their defeat because it will remind every Indian that millions of people still have to stay in the slums because of faulty Congress policies," Bharatiya Janata Party leader Prakash Javdekar told Reuters.