In the wake of the #MainBhiChowkidar campaign started by Narendra Modi to appeal to voters to vote for him in the upcoming general elections, he and a number of high-ranking BJP leaders and cabinet ministers have added "Chowkidar" (guardsman) to their Twitter handles.
Among the ministers who have added the "Chowkidar" prefix to their names are BJP chief Amit Shah, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan.
BJP chief Amit Shah, to commemorate his "Chowkidar" prefix, said: "He who made a clean government, he is chowkidar. Say it from your heart, #ChowkidarPhirSe"
जिसने बनाया स्वच्छता को संस्कार...वो है चौकीदार। #MainBhiChowkidar
— Chowkidar Amit Shah (@AmitShah) March 17, 2019
कहो दिल से #ChowkidarPhirSe pic.twitter.com/jLqn6atvXR
Among those who joined in on the "Chowkidar" trend was M J Akbar, the former minister who was tangled in the #MeToo controversy last year.
I am proud to join #MainBhiChowkidar movement. As a citizen who loves India, I shall do my best to defeat corruption, dirt, poverty & terrorism and help create a New India which is strong, secure & prosperous.
— M.J. Akbar (@mjakbar) March 16, 2019
The #MainBhiChowkidar campaign came as a counter to Congress' #ChowkidarChorHai campaign, which was aimed to highlight the BJP government's alleged corruption. The Congress has repeatedly targeted the BJP and Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal and the fleeing of Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya among other issues.