Cast Your Vote & Pick New PM: Akhilesh on Modi’s Twitter Appeal

PM Modi tagged social media influencers, including politicians, asking them to encourage people to vote.

Soon after Narendra Modi took to Twitter urging politicians, celebrities and media personalities to boost voter turnout this Lok Sabha elections, Akhilesh Yadav seemed to concur with him – with a twist.

The Samajwadi Party president said that he was happy that the prime minister was appealing to the mahagathbandhan for a mahaparivartan (change). He further said that voters should cast ballots in large numbers, but to choose a new prime minister.

दिल ख़ुश हुआ कि प्रधान मंत्री जी भी #MahaGathbandhan से #MahaParivartan की अपील कर रहे हैं। मैं भी सभी भारतीय नागरिकों से अनुरोध करता हूँ कि ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा संख्या में मतदान करें और नया प्रधान मंत्री चुनें। https://t.co/8BsWOdClud

— Akhilesh Yadav (@yadavakhilesh) March 13, 2019

On Wednesday, 13 March, in a series of tweets, Modi tagged several social media influencers, including Opposition leaders, to encourage people to vote. From Opposition bigwigs Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati to senior journalists, strategists and A-list Bollywood celebrities, the prime minister tagged them all.

‘Your Appeal is False’: Kejriwal on Modi’s Vote Appeal

Reacting to PM Modi’s tweets, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted that the PM’s vote appeal is false.

Referring to the purported deletion of names of voters from the electoral rolls, the Delhi CM said, "Your people are withholding votes from millions of people and preventing them from voting...Stop this fake appeal.”

प्रधान मंत्री जी, आपकी ये अपील झूठी है। आपके लोग लाखों लोगों के वोट कटवा कर उन्हें वोट करने से रोक रहे हैं। हमने उन लोगों के वोट बनवाए तो आपका अमित शाह हमारे कॉल सेंटर बंद करने की धमकी दे रहा है। अपने अमित शाह और अपनी दिल्ली पुलिस को रोकिए। और या फिर ये झूठी अपील बंद कीजिए https://t.co/ytHvXYtBuy

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) March 13, 2019

Earlier in November 2018, Kejriwal had accused the BJP of resorting to removing names of voters from the electoral rolls.

Your Govt Disenfranchised J&K People, Says Omar

National Conference leader and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the PM was tagging “famous people” in his tweets, and that the BJP-led government has “disenfranchised people in J&K by not holding Assembly elections on time.”

The right to choose an elected government, as opposed to being governed by a hand picked nominee of the central government, is the hallmark of the sort of democracy you are tweeting about. Please give us our democratic right to choose our own government.

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 13, 2019

(With inputs from The Times of India)