The Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has brought in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as a star campaigner ahead of the Assembly elections in the state. Adiyanath has already conducted two rallies in Karnataka and more rallies appealing to the ‘Hindu identity’ of the people of Karnataka are expected to be held soon.
While Adiyanath has been able to counter the Congress’ recent pro-Hindutva narrative, his attempts to criticise the state on development and law and order has led to the Congress-led government to start a trolling campaign against him.
Karnataka Congress has been using the hashtag #HoggappaYogi – which loosely translates to ‘get lost Yogi’ – which is similar to the hashtag #PoMoneShaji that was started by people in Kerala for BJP president Amit Shah.
Facts sheets put out by the Congress have managed to dilute the effects Adiyanath’s presence was to bring to the BJP’s campaign ahead of the polls.
Why Is Yogi Important for Karnataka BJP?
The BJP in Karnataka has not been able to resonate its campaign highlighting the alleged corruption of Siddaramaiah. Former chief minister and BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa, who was himself booked for corruption, leading this campaign was one of the reasons it fizzled out.
This was followed by the BJP’s campaign promising development. Even this didn’t get traction as Yeddyurappa as chief minister had little to show development during his tenure.
However, one of the strategies that has been effective for the BJP was communal politics. The recent attacks on the members of the Sangh parivar threatens to leave the state polarised. This is said to be one of the reasons why the Siddaramaiah government began projecting itself as pro-Hindu.
During a rally in December 2017, Siddaramaiah had said that he was a Hindu and even had ‘Ram’ in his name as well. This change in Congress’s strategy, who had historically relied on Ahinda votes (Dalits, minorities and backward classes), was taken seriously by the BJP leadership.
According to a senior BJP leader, Adityanath’s statement on Sunday, 7 January, asking Siddaramaiah why beef consumption was allowed in the state if he claimed he was a Hindu, was deliberate as as to counter Siddaramaiah’s statement.
And it had to come from Adiyanath. “As a party, the BJP wants the counter to Siddaramaiah’s pro-Hindu narrative to come from authoritative Hindutva figure like Yogi,” the senior BJP leader said.
When the Trolling Began
While Yogi Adityanath has been giving Siddaramaiah a tough challenge on the Hindu identity front, in topics other than Hindutva, Aditynath’s statements have given the Congress government ammo to troll him. Since his first speech in the state on 22 December 2017, the Congress has been consistently targeting the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister.
#YogiInsultsKarnataka was a trending topic on Twitter a day after Adityanath claimed in a rally that Karnataka was in a “state of anarchy” and the state’s development was a sham compared to that of Uttar Pradesh.
Latest of the Trolling
When Adityanath attacked the Karnataka CM for lack of development in a rally in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah took to Twitter, sarcastically suggesting that Adityanath can learn a lot from Karnataka.
Siddaramaiah asked the UP CM to tour Indira canteens and other ration shops started by his government. He also raked up the issue of starvation deaths, referring to the case where a man reportedly starved to death in Bareilly – an allegation the Adityanath government has vehemently denied.
Taking a Cue From Kerala
The Congress in Karnataka has taken a cue from Kerala’s CPI(M) when Yogi Adityanath was trolled during his visit to Kerala in October 2017. After Yogi took a dig at the Kerala government saying the state should learn from UP on how to run hospitals, CPI(M) hit back stating the number of deaths reported in UP government-run hospitals under the Adityanath’s administration.
A campaign committee member of Karnataka Congress, however, used the word ‘fact checking’ instead of ‘trolling,’ to describe their campaign. “Even if we set aside the fact that Adityanath has been focusing on communal politics to divide the people of Karnataka, his campaign is a pack of lies. And we will keep countering his claims using facts, till people realise the BJP’s plan,” the Congressman said.
BJP Hits Back
The BJP has not taken it lying down. They have been responding to the Congress since the ‘trolling’ began. The saffron party said this was a sign of desperation from the Congress, which felt threatened by Adityanath’s campaign.
Even the UP CM hot back on Twitter. On Monday, 8 January, he posted:
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)