A dramatic ‘poster war’ has broken out between India’s two largest political parties — the opposition Congress and the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). It all began when Congress released a poster on 4 October on X, featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the caption ‘Going to hit the election rally soon.’ The poster featured images of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, often regarded as the second-in-command in the Modi administration.
The poster bore the caption, “PM Narendra Modi as the Jumla Boy (Boy who makes false promises), BJP Presents.”
Going to hit the election rally soon. pic.twitter.com/GCWWr2bwxi
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 4, 2023
Congress followed up with another poster featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the caption ‘The Biggest Liar.
The Biggest Liar pic.twitter.com/rs56VSWRK1
— Congress (@INCIndia) October 4, 2023
In retaliation, the BJP struck back by unveiling its own poster on 5 October, depicting opposition leader Rahul Gandhi as ‘Ravan,’ the principal antagonist in the Hindu epic Ramayana. The caption on the poster read, “Ravan, a Congress party production, directed by George Soros.”
The new age Ravan is here. He is Evil. Anti Dharma. Anti Ram. His aim is to destroy Bharat. pic.twitter.com/AwDKxJpDHB
— BJP (@BJP4India) October 5, 2023
Upon the BJP’s release of the poster, opposition parties swiftly condemned the move, denouncing it as “unacceptable.” Jairam Ramesh, a prominent leader of Congress, took strong offense to the poster, accusing the BJP of inciting violence against Rahul Gandhi.
Ramesh voiced his concerns on social media. “What is the true intention behind this egregious depiction of Rahul Gandhi as Ravan by the BJP’s official account? It is evidently designed to foment and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother fell victim to forces seeking to divide India,” he said in a post on X.
What is the real intent of an atrocious graphic portraying @RahulGandhi as Ravan by the BJP’s official handle? It is clearly intended to incite and provoke violence against a Congress MP and a former President of the party, whose father and grandmother were assassinated by forces…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 5, 2023
He went on to add, “It is one thing for the PM to give evidence daily of being a pathological liar and of suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder. But for him to get his party to produce something this obnoxious is not just completely unacceptable, but is downright dangerous.”
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, sister of Rahul Gandhi, also launched a scathing critique of the BJP, addressing the Prime Minister and BJP President directly. “Most respected @narendramodi ji and shri @JPNadda ji, what level do you want to take politics and debate to? Do you agree with the violent and provocative tweets being posted from the official Twitter handle of your party?” she wrote on X.
Taking an even stronger stance, KC Venugopal, Congress’s General Secretary for Organization, asserted that the BJP harbored sinister intentions towards Rahul Gandhi.
“Their nefarious intentions are clear, they want to murder him. He, who lost his grandmother and father to assassinations. They withdrew his SPG protection to score petty political points. After evicting him from his secure residence, they haven’t allocated another house that he has requested for,” he said.