The twitter handle of Modi showed the removal of Chowkidar tag as soon a well-calculated victory was achieved by BJP and its allies. It was a significant win and Chowkidar played a pivotal role in projecting the image of the Prime Minister and his followers. In the end, Chowkidar had the last laugh and the people, who did make a snub with the slogan, were left in the lurch. It’s not the first time the BJP has tried to turn the tables on a Congress campaign — remember the Chaiwala jibe it converted to its advantage?
As the poll campaign was hotting up, the BJP, which has earned a bit of a reputation as slogan sultans, raised a storm with its ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ election campaign on Twitter. It was a direct response to the ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ campaign orchestrated by the Congress party. In the end, it was in the losing cause and the campaigners were toppled without much resistance. How the Chowkidar tag went a long way in reaching the common man and that was reflected in the historic victory.
The ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign has become a people’s movement and a global trend. However, some people are opposing it paid a heavy price. These are people who are born in affluence and are out on bail. They have things to hide and nothing to reveal as performance in front of the people. Top BJP leaders added the ‘Chowkidar’ prefix to their Twitter handles after the PM launched the campaign. Over 1 crore people from all walks of life have pledged their support to the ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign. The BJP’s gamble that the slogan/hashtag would catch on like the “Chaiwallah” jab of the 2014 general election paid off in the end.
It is hoped that the “Main Bhi Chowkidar” campaign will not be restricted just to the Lok Sabha elections but it will be continued in the future too. A Hollywood movie with four Academy awards, Spartacus (1960), has an interesting and emotional portrayal of a scene where the rebellion slaves, who were caught by the Roman army, refused to identify their leader, Spartacus, though lured with freedom. This they did with all of them saying, “I am Spartacus.”
The catch-phrase Chowkidar scored a brownie point and that the mere addition of a word as a prefix to Twitter handle paid off with best results and provided the base for an absolute majority for the party and that proved it as a people’s party. The tag resonates with more success as the people misused the chant to mock at PM were pushed to the back seat. SC issues formal contempt notice against Rahul Gandhi and he apologised without recourse in the end and it was a moral victory for Modi and BJP. Congress was in a confused state whereas the BJP, by contrast, seems to be betting more on #NamoAgain.
The 2019 elections decided the supremacy of BJP and the strength of NDA against a feeble opposition. In the end, Chowkidars came to power with their full backing, and so more decisions will be taken to increase the gap between the masses and the rich in the days to come. Chak De Chowkidar.
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