At the capital’s Farmgate intersection, a song is playing with the familiar tune of recent hit ‘Dushtu Kokil’. But the lyrics have been changed to “Those of you nearby, swept up in the election fever.” Set to the melody of ‘Dushtu Kokil’, the song now praises an election candidate.

Over the past three days, visits to several areas of Dhaka—including Shahbagh, Karwan Bazar, Agargaon, Mohakhali and Khilkhet—show that most of the songs used in campaigning for the 13th parliamentary election are based on copied tunes.

Election songs are most commonly heard set to the melodies of popular tracks such as ‘Morar Kokile’, ‘Buk Chin Chin Korche’, ‘Tikatulir Morey Ekta Hall Royeche’, ‘Ammajan’, ‘Khairun Lo’, ‘Rupbane Nache Komor Dulaiya’, ‘Biyain Shab’, ‘Deora’, ‘Noya Daman’, ‘Dushtu Kokil’, ‘Lage Ura Dhura’ and ‘O Bondhu Lal Golapi’.

In Khilkhet, a song blasting from a mobile campaign loudspeaker goes, “The parliamentary election is here / Listen, all the voters.” The tune is taken from the song ‘Buk Chin Chin Korche’, originally composed by Ali Akram Shuvo, sung by Andrew Kishore and Dolly Sayontoni in the film ‘Bastob’.