New Delhi: Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) added the prefix “chowkidar”, or sentinel, to their Twitter handles Sunday, kicking off a viral social media campaign days before the Lok Sabha elections begin.
The move came a day after Modi initiated the “Main bhi chowkidar” campaign on social media, playing on a campaign byword from his 2014 outing to bolster the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) bid for a second consecutive term at the Cente.
“Your Chowkidar is standing firm & serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar,” he wrote. By Sunday, his Twitter handle had been renamed “ChowkidarNarendraModi”.
“Fellow Indians, Happy that #MainBhiChowkidar has ignited the Chowkidar within all of us. Great fervour!” he tweeted. “Ecstatic to see the passion and commitment to protect India from corrupt, criminal and anti-social elements. Let us keep working together for a developed India.”
BJP president Amit Shah, and Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, J.P. Nadda and Ravi Shankar Prasad soon changed their own Twitter handles, as did ministers Smriti Irani, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, Prakash Javadekar, and Suresh Prabhu.
Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and MP Kirron Kher were among the others who renamed their Twitter handles.
The various BJP leaders also posted tweets to acknowledge Modi’s campaign.
Retweeting PM Modi’s tweet, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Our Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has taken a pledge to transform this country into a ‘New India’ by 2022. He is not alone. The entire nation stands by his side. #Mainbhichowkidar.”
As Chowkidars of our nation, we are committed to creating a clean economy by using cashless financial transactions.
The menace of corruption and black money has adversely affected us for decades. Time to eliminate these for a better future. #MainBhiChowkidar #ChowkidarPhirSe pic.twitter.com/y44vwyM4xs
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 17, 2019
Main #Maa hu, #Behen hu, #Pyar hu. Par #rakshashon ke liye, #sher pe savaar hu. #MainBhiChowkidar hu. pic.twitter.com/IwxXBLdi1S
— Kirron Kher (@KirronKherBJP) March 17, 2019
उत्तर प्रदेश है संकल्पित और मैं तैयार हूँ,
जो प्रेरणा से है बही, विकास की बयार हूँ,हाँ, मैं भी चौकीदार हूँ…
जारी रखें विकास का सफर मोदी जी के साथ#उत्तरप्रदेश_74पार #PhirEkbaarModiSarkar
I am proud to join #MainBhiChowkidar movement.
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) March 16, 2019
जिसने बनाया स्वच्छता को संस्कार…वो है चौकीदार। #MainBhiChowkidar
कहो दिल से #ChowkidarPhirSe pic.twitter.com/jLqn6atvXR
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 17, 2019
Modi had first used the word “chowkidar” during the BJP’s 2014 campaign, when he launched his bid for the country’s top office. Over the years, it has also served as fodder for opposition attacks, with Congress president Rahul Gandhi using the spinoff “chowkidar chor hai (sentinel is thief)” to attack the Prime Minister on the Rafale deal.
Also read: Modi’s call to supporters to take ‘main bhi chowkidar’ pledge gives Rahul an opening