BJP ad blitz sets off a flood of jokes on social media

The advertisements soon became a joke, with Mumbaikars discussing the ads with amusement.

“Why do you care where our Maharashtra has gone? We have enough Maharashtrians to worry about that,” says Bhandup resident A Ghatge.

Hardly two weeks after the campaign began, jokes began circulating on WhatsApp and Twitter.

“We are aware of these messages. All of them reach us while being circulated. However, we, as a party, do not waste time responding to anyone’s statements. Our campaign is based on Uddhav’s vision. But the Marathi manoos in the state is furious at what the BJP did with us over a matter of a few seats. These messages are replies from the common man to the BJP,” says Shiv Sena spokesperson Harshal Pradhan.

A WhatsApp message in Marathi that has been doing the rounds this week, when loosely translated, says, “Do not stand in Gujarat and ask where Maharashtra is. Stand on the Sahyadri mountains and then you will see it. Do not eat dhoklas and ask where Maharashtra is.” The message ends by saying, “Maharashtra has always been in our hearts, and always will be.”

Worli resident Abhijeet patil, an ardent Shiv Sena supporter who is now a member of the Yuva Sena, says, “As soon as we get such messages, we make sure we forward them to as many WhatsApp users or groups as possible.”

Another popular message being circulated on WhatsApp is, “To be or not to be is no longer the question. ‘Kuthe neun thevlay Maharashtra maajha’ is the new question.”

Some enterprising members of the social media have also circulated a map of India, highlighting Maharashtra in red, and adding a caption saying, “Ithe thevlay Maharashtra maajha. Parat vicharu nako (This is where Maharashtra is. Don’t ask again.)”
Another popular photograph is one of a hotel named Maharashtra Maajha. The caption reads, “Ha ghya sapadla Maharashtra maajha. Nashik Road la aahe (Found ‘Maharashtra Maajha. It’s on the Nashik Road).”

gautam.mengle@expressindia.com