Anti-Modi crusade troubles BJP

Lucknow: Even though the BJP is continuing its winning streak in Uttar Pradesh, the party is now troubled over the anti-Modi campaign that has been unleashing on the social media.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the biggest vote catcher for the BJP and party strategists feel that attempts to diminish the sheen of their leader could damage the party in 2019.

The BJP in UP plans to refurbish its social media cell and counter the negative campaign.

“We are setting up cells at the booth level that will interact with the voters and counter the campaign. These will be mainly the young workers who will be well equipped with all information needed to decimate the campaign,” said a party source.

The BJP feels that though it swept the recent municipal elections, the attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the opposition in Gujarat are being closely watched by the people in Uttar Pradesh where the party faces the challenge of not only retaining its 73 seats in the next Lok Sabha elections but even improving its tally.

“The jokes and memes on Mr Modi are flooding the Internet and people are actually lapping it up. The problem is that we need to counter this campaign in the same language,” the party source said.

The Yogi Adityanath government has been dealing firmly with those post objectionable content and action has been taken in more than a dozen such cases but that has not hemmed in the trend.

The party now faces the challenge of winning a series of by-elections in the state. An assembly by-election is due in Sikandar in Kanpur Dehat and by-polls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha seats are also vacant.