Much to everyone’s surprise, a professional comedian won the Presidential election in Ukraine. Yes, an actual comedian won the elections. And the best part is, he actually played the part of the President in a TV show.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the comedian who won the election
Volodymyr Zelensky, a trained lawyer worked as an actor, director, screenwriter, and comedian. He beat the incumbent Petro O. Poroshenko with a vote share of 73.17%.
He even starred in a satirical television series Servant of the People, in which his character accidentally becomes the Ukrainian president.
Well, that’s awkward, isn’t it.
Ukraine has not really had the best of the time these past few years. Battling economic issues ever since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 as well as the annexation of a part of Ukraine- Crimea by Russia, Ukraine has suffered a lot.
The youth aren’t exactly hopeful, but they elected him because they couldn’t find anyone else. Natalia Melnykova, 42 said, “He promises utopia of course, but let it just be different,” further adding that she did not like either candidate on Sunday’s ballot, but had voted for the comedian.
This makes one think, can a comedian win in India as well considering the focus on youth leaders and alternative politics.
Who could do that? Perhaps someone who is very politically charged, isn’t afraid to speak up and has a solid fan base?
Enter, Kunal Kamra, political satirist and comedian, seen here wearing a “Waah, Modiji, Waah” T-shirt and casually criticizing the PM.
You know, normal everyday stuff.
Kunal Kamra recently came into the spotlight after he campaigned for part-time CPI(M) candidate and full-time Azaadi enthusiast Kanhiya Kumar.
This is not the first time Kamra has been seen dipping his toes in hot political waters. He posted multiple pictures of him holding up a placard saying “Don’t vote for Modi” in various public places.
Related: Comedians Kunal Kamra & Masoom Rajwani Made To Apologise Over ‘Hanuman’ Joke
This quickly became a meme on social media with Kamra himself sharing morphed photos of himself and the placard in various places including the Bombay Stock Exchange, which prompted the BSE to threaten to sue him.
Besides that, Kamra has released multiple politically satirical stand-up videos as well as a series called “Shut Up Ya Kunal”.
In the series, he interviews political leaders like Jignesh Mewani, Atishi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora and so on along with other famous personalities like Javed Akhtar, Umar Khalid, Kanhaiya Kumar, Ravish Kumar, etc.
He has landed in controversies as well. He was banned from performing in Baroda because he was considered anti-national. Another comedian and Kamra were publicly shamed as well for their content.
Kamra’s popularity is quite infectious within the youth. People seem to love the stuff he puts out. A part of his charm comes from the fact that he adopts (or at least tries to) a centrist approach.
Since he has now started to do part-time campaigning, he might stand for elections as well one day. It wouldn’t be a surprise, and people might actually vote for him.
And he might actually win, if it happened in Ukraine, could happen here as well.
If he does, I wonder what the speeches are going to be like. Will he release stand-up comedies on himself? Will he visit our “jawans fighting on the Siachen“?
Only time will tell.
In case, you did not get the last line and want more context, go ahead and read this:
Feature Image Credits: Deeksha
Image Source: Google Images
Sources: New York Times, BBC, NDTV
Reach the blogger at: @tanmaymay_
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