Indian-origin Dipika Damerla, who is contesting for the post of Mayor of Mississauga in Canada, made a vote appeal using a popular Bollywood song, giving its lyrics a political twist to promise voters that she would not increase property taxes if elected. However, after the video went viral and received mixed reactions, she deleted it and shared a personal note on X explaining her decision.
Many people laughed along and understood the spirit in which it was made. She wrote, “I’m running for public office, and I know that criticism comes with the territory. Damerla wrote, “This is a pivotal moment in Mississauga to discuss what belonging feels like. Some of the comments became deeply personal, hateful, and hurtful. She added that she would continue to stand up for people facing racism, hate or any form of discrimination. Families are struggling with affordability, safety, and declining city services. That is why as Mayor, I will bring accountability to City Hall, stop wasteful spending, and set up Mississauga to become a centre of innovation and job creation. Damerla also thanked everyone who had reached out with kindness, encouragement and concern.
It is a difficult thing to put one’s family through, especially over a video that was meant to make people smile, so that’s why we’ve decided to take the video down. Because i love Mississauga, explaining why she entered the mayoral race, Damerla wrote, “I entered this race.
Before sharing her response, Damerla took down the video titled “Dipika Damerla For Mississauga Mayor”. The video showed her singing a modified version of the popular Hindi song “Kya Hua Tera Wada”, using its tune to make a promise about property taxes. She later shared a post titled “A Personal Note from Dipika Damerla”, explaining why she chose to delete the video. She said the video was intended to be lighthearted and that the lyrics had been changed to talk about property taxes. She said people could make fun of her videos or disagree with her politics, but that would not stop her from standing up for the city she loved. Concluding her post, she said there is an election ahead and far more important issues to talk about. She urged people to get back to the task of building “a City That Works.”
