Siddaramaiah and the BJP’s state unit handle are the frontrunners for the online chapter of this ‘Game of Thrones’.
New Delhi: There are the political rallies, of course, but a very interesting round in the ongoing Karnataka assembly election campaign seems to be playing out on social media. The main players (surprise, surprise) are the Congress and the BJP.
Friday morning, Congress’ Siddaramaiah put up a surprisingly quick, tongue-in-cheek reply to PM Narendra Modi’s attack on the party. At a rally, the PM had said that wherever Congress was in power, “only their leaders and relatives are happy”. In reply, Siddaramaiah reminded Modi about Amit Shah’s son facing allegations of wrongdoing.
A certain Jay Shah saw 16,000 times growth in the revenues of his company (Rs 50,000 to Rs 80.50 Cr.) under your Govt.
I am told he is a relative of @AmitShah your party President. Please check. https://t.co/8MyUJDtc7Y
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 4, 2018
A subsequent message targeted Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who was in Karnataka to campaign for the BJP, over his absence in his home state to handle the aftermath of the recent deadly dust storms.
At least 64 people have lost their lives due to a storm in Uttar Pradesh. My heartfelt condolences to the families who have lost their loved ones.
I am sorry your CM is needed here in Karnataka. I am sure he will return soon & attend to his work there. https://t.co/RwgDrhdn82
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 3, 2018
However, the tweet that really took the cake was his “counter-challenge” to PM Modi, who had recently dared Congress president Rahul Gandhi to make a 15-minute address in a language of his choice “without reading from a paper”.
Dear PM @narendramodi ji,
I challenge you to speak about the achievements of B S Yeddyurappa’s Govt in Karnataka for 15 minutes by looking at a paper.
Sincerely
Siddaramaiah https://t.co/zSkja6eURO— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 2, 2018
If you go through Siddaramaiah’s Twitter account, it’s evident that he (or rather, his social media team) has been using Twitter to come up with snappy tweets to hit back at critics.
In April, when the BJP’s P. Muralidhar Rao took to Twitter to target Siddaramaiah with a post in Hindi, the latter replied by asking Rao to tweet in Kannada or English as he did not “understand” Hindi.
ಕನ್ನಡ ಅಥವಾ ಇಂಗ್ಲಿಷ್ ನಲ್ಲಿ ಟ್ವೀಟ್ ಮಾಡಿ ಸರ್. ಹಿಂದಿ ಅರ್ಥವಾಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ https://t.co/i9rbgLyFJU
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 21, 2018
Since we all love a good Twitter battle, we went ahead and picked some of Siddaramaiah’s tweets that made us laugh. They rank right among the incredibly sarcastic and witty tweets that make us love Twitter.
Was it fear that drove you to contest from 2 parliamentary constituencies (Varanasi & Vadodara) Mr. PM @narendramodi ? Of course you are a 56 inch man, you would have some clever explanation!!
Forget 2 seats, Sir. Worry about the fact that your party will not cross 60-70! https://t.co/Hr3V5x6sDE
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 1, 2018
Linking toilet construction to provision of Food under PDS!! Shows how little BJP understands Hunger. Hope Karnataka BJP doesn’t include linking Anna Bhagya to toilet construction in its manifesto.
That is if they ever release a manifesto. https://t.co/GLbeAHYE65
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 29, 2018
This is turning out to be quite a Mutual Admiration Club!
They praise each other & then the gentlemen protest any suggestion of partnership.
After a collaborative seat selection the flip-flops & U Turns don’t confuse the voters.
This is a Congress vs BJP+JDS contest. https://t.co/6XBw4HoJAE
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 4, 2018
However, the chief minister is not alone in this social media back-and-forth.
BJP Karnataka’s Twitter handle is playing the game with equal fervour: From addressing Siddaramaiah as “Siddu” as he is known in the local media to using memes as their method of attack, their tweets are uproariously funny, as well as terrifyingly passive-aggressive.
The handle has attacked everyone, from the Congress as a whole, to their manifesto, their leaders, their promises and, last but not the least, their president.
Since it’s almost time for the Karnataka election, chief minister Siddaramaiah is their latest target, and the handle has produced gems such as:
Who are Anand Singh & B. Nagendra then? Are they saints of Bellary? Forgotten that they were jailed on illegal mining charges? & now, you have rewarded them with Cong tickets & withdrawn CBI investigation!!
Siddu is the perfect example of the adage “Pot calling the kettle black” https://t.co/pOglSZZJy7
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 3, 2018
“Sir your family got 3 tickets while many of us are left in lurch. We demand you withdraw ticket to your son, as he is equally ineligible like most of us”
CM: This is unreasonable demand & can’t be granted. How can you say he is ineligible? Being my son is his only eligibility! pic.twitter.com/o6CY7v2eYN
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 23, 2018
Mr. CM, before we see you again, we have a piece of advice for you.
The next time you attempt to engage with the Hon’ble Prime Minister, pic.twitter.com/UJq627cWkp
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 30, 2018
However, time and again, they return to target of choice, Rahul, attacking not only his position as party president, but also his intelligence and experience, going as far as referring to him as an “intern”.
Your leader, #BailBird RG has breakfast with A.Raja, lunch with Chautala & evening snacks with Con Lalu Yadav
What do they discuss, pre arrangements for 2019, pseudo secularism or necessary preparations for Tihar? Rahul looks like an intern sitting before his boss & taking notes https://t.co/7eVqN9rdbk
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 30, 2018
Dear @INCIndia, do not stoop lower than your President’s IQ. Central govt gave Karnataka govt Rs. 2100 crores for toilet construction. If you say not enough toilets were built, ask Mr. SiddhaRupaiya! https://t.co/eU122DkdM8
— BJP (@BJP4India) April 26, 2018
Mr. Rahul, the fact that we Indians chose Modi as PM & relegated you to the fringes is a sure sign of our intelligence. Of all the people, we don’t need a certificate of intelligence from you!
Truth will surely catch up soon. Btw, when is next hearing of National Herald case? https://t.co/Wsy3HkoBYA
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 19, 2018
Our favourite tweet from all of these gems? It’s about another game of thrones, altogether.
PM Shri @narendramodi will be visiting Udupi on May 1st, 2018. He will be first visiting Udupi’s Shri Krishna Mutt, and will later address a massive public rally in Udupi.#ModiIsComing pic.twitter.com/GTaUZghI2w
— BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) April 22, 2018