The man who coined the slogan "Shining India" for the country's economic achievements never dreamt it would become a potent electoral weapon in the hands of the ruling Hindu nationalists.
"Honestly, it was not (meant) to be political but it has turned into the hottest issue in India," said Pratap Suthan, a creative director with Gray World-wide advertising agency.
Suthan came up with the slogan in December as part of a 650-million-rupee (14.4-million dollar), government-funded campaign to promote India internationally.
"We had a tight deadline and so I worked on tourism slogans (used by other countries) like 'Rule Britannia' or 'Come, Play in South Africa'. But this really clicked and has now permeated into our political language," Suthan told AFP.
"Shining India" was originally the theme for a 60-second video made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government to highlight the steps it says it took to boost economic growth, slash interest rates, stabilise prices, expand road and telecom and health networks, and offer free basic education.
The blurb aired 9,472 times on television in December and January, second only to ads for the government's anti-polio campaign, according to privately run TV monitoring agency, Tam.
Now the two words have been taken over by the BJP and are at the core of its electioneering for parliamentary elections to be held in five phases starting April 20.
India's Election Commission banned the slogan's broadcast, until the ballot ends on May 10, after the opposition Congress party complained it has given the BJP an unfair image boost at the expense of the taxpayer.
But that has not stopped BJP politicians from using it liberally on the campaign trail - or the Congress from trying to cloud over their efforts.
The polls are seen as a direct contest between the BJP, which hopes to retain power for the fourth time since 1996, and the Congress, which has ruled India for the better part of the past five decades.
"The result is already known even before the elections because we have made India shine," said BJP chief Venkiah Naidu.
"It may be shining for some in the government but definitely not for entire India," retorted Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Asutosh Khanna, chief of Gray World-wide, said he was stunned by the Pied Piper appeal of "India Shining".
"We treated it as a societal-change campaign but now we feel awesome. (Such success) does not happen in a lifetime," said Khanna.
"'Shining India' should be worth 50 billion rupees (1.1 billion dollars) because of the publicity generated from all the chat shows, articles ... and seminars on the subject," he said.
Even sports writers have taken to using the slogan to hail India's victory on Pakistani cricket grounds.
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