On Campus
JNU College, Delhi
"One, two, three, mic testing... Hello, hello... Why isn't this working?" shouted the boy in the orange kurta, his frustration palpable.
"The button won't turn on itself Cabir!" yelled his friend, who was jotting down notes for the speech.
"Oh, right! There's a button!" He clicked it, and the mic crackled to life.
"Hello, one, two, three..." He tapped the mic a few times, grinning sheepishly.
"Namaste, brothers and sisters! Today, our college is buzzing with the spirit of elections , so please, let's keep it lively and respectful and not some sabzi Mandi if you please," he announced, laughter erupting from the crowd.
". So let's keep the energy high! Your favorite candidate will be joining us shortly ! Aah there he is.." he added, gesturing dramatically.
The crowd settled, and like a magnet all eyes turned toward the back, where a boy in a blue kurta and black jeans was making his way to the stage. He had a light beard and walked confidently, his arm draped around a police constable's shoulder, chatting amiably.
After shaking hands with the officer, he strode onto the stage, greeted by loud cheers from the audience waving banners that proclaimed "YUVA."
He embraced his friend , who didn't looked delighted at his management of time.
"Take care up there man," his friend whispered, concern flickering in his eyes. Manik nodded with a playful smirk, then strode toward the mic. Before taking the speech offered by his friend Abhimanyu, he glanced back and, with a sudden flourish, tore it into pieces, scattering them like confetti.
Cabir and Abhimanyu shared could only share a look and pray.
Standing before the mic, he joined his hands, exuding charisma. "Aur Kaisi hai meri Yuva!" he boomed, prompting a thunderous cheer.
"I know you're expecting me to make grand promises that from today, JNU and Delhi will be problem-free. But let's be real," he said, the crowd falling silent. "If you think I can wave a wand and make everything perfect, you're mistaken."
He chuckled, continuing, "I might have glasses, but I'm no Harry Potter who can simply solve every issue with a flick of my wand. I'm not here to make empty promises because we all know that promises are often broken."
Laughter erupted, and his friends exchanged amused glances.
"What I can commit to is this: I may not have all the answers, but I will dedicate myself fully to addressing the challenges we face. Whether it's here at JNU or across the entire country, I will fight for our concerns." Cheers surged through the crowd.
His gaze swept over the audience until it landed on a girl with a raised hand. He sighed, a playful smile tugging at his lips.
"Yes, ma'am, what can I do for you?" he asked.
Her lip curled mischievously , she turned off her handheld camera and looked up at me. "Excuse me, Mr. Candidate, but you just claimed that promises are meant to be broken and with that saying Should we assume your words are just for show?"
Manik leaned in clearly enjoying her attention " that's a good point you made ! I'm just being refreshingly honest. Isn't that what we need more of in politics?"
She laughed, undeterred. "So honesty is your platform? Should I be taking notes, or just enjoying the show? Because I think I'm more entertained than informed right now."
"Definitely enjoy the show! But I promise, if elected, I'll keep it interesting," he quipped, his confidence shining through. "Maybe even throw in a few dance breaks at the meetings."
Nandini crossed her arms, pretending to ponder. "Dance breaks? Now you're talking! But what if you trip over your own promises?"
"Then I'll just turn it into a new dance move! The 'Promise Shuffle'—it'll go viral," he shot back, grinning.
"Now that sounds like a campaign I can support," she teased. "But tell me, what else do you have up your sleeve? More dance moves or just more witty comebacks?"
"Why not both? I'll bring the moves, you bring the critiques, and together we'll take this campus by storm!" he replied, winking at her.
Nandini rolled her eyes playfully. "Just make sure to leave some space for actual issues between the dance moves."
"Only if you promise to keep filming; I want my campaign to go viral for the right reasons!" he said, laughing.
The audience was clearly captivated, enjoying the chemistry between the two and the energy in the ground surged to all the wrong reasons which was well noticed by his friends .
Cabir urged Abhimanyu to handle the situation,Before their playful exchange can divert their candidate's attention to somewhere else he took the control of the mic seized the moment, rallying cheers for their "YUVA PARTY."
Nandini looked around feeling a sense of happiness by the trust and the energy of the people, her eyes met with him whose didn't left her's which made her roll her eyes . She tucked her camera into her bag glanced back and left from there .Manik smirked at her retreating figure and got back in doing his job.
( Hope I do justice with the story this time , really look forward for your reviews and hope to get some ideas from you :) )
