'I love' posters put up by Uttar Pradesh's political opponents — the Samajwadi Party (L) and the Bharatiya Janata Party — with images of their respective top leaders in the state, Akhilesh Yadav and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, respectively.
UP ‘poster war’ pits BJP, SP, and Congress leaders in Lucknow
After Kanpur and Bareilly incidents, parties launch ‘I love…’ posters featuring CM Yogi, Akhilesh Yadav, and Rahul Gandhi on social media, streets and walls
Following the uproar over the 'I Love Mohammad' poster in Kanpur and the incidents of violence and police lathi-charge in Bareilly, a full-fledged ‘poster war’ has started in Uttar Pradesh. Members and workers of political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress, have made it a political issue by putting up posters and hoardings in the name of their respective leaders.
The posters can be seen outside the parties’ offices. Meant to highlight qualities of the leaders, they even mention terms such as Constitution, bulldozer, socialism and employment – issues that are relevant to the state’s politics.
Also read: ‘Maulana forgot who’s in power’, warns Adityanath after Bareilly violence
After the controversy surrounding the ‘I Love Mohammad’ poster that erupted in Kanpur on September 6, action is being taken to address the violence that happened after the Friday prayers in Bareilly on September 26. The ‘poster war’ has also begun between the political parties in the meantime. The BJP, SP and Congress have come up with ‘I Love…’ posters displaying their respective top leaders. These posters are dominating discussions, from those on social media to those on the streets.
'I love...' Yogi, Akhilesh and Rahul
Even though the UP elections are still some time away, the political adversaries have started an informal campaign on the issue, particularly after the controversy over the ‘I Love Mohammad’ escalated. The launch of posters and counter-posters by the parties has made the political atmosphere heated.
After Maulana Tauqeer Raza was arrested in connection with the violence in Bareilly, a hoarding saying ‘I Love Shri Yogi Adityanath’ was put up in Lucknow by Amit Tripathi, the BJP Yuva Morcha’s general secretary of the city unit. As more such hoardings came up outside the BJP’s office and at several interactions in Lucknow, they became a hot topic for discussion in political circles.
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Bulldozer also on posters
Besides the name of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the hoarding also featured his government’s bulldozer actions. Even ‘I love bulldozer’ was mentioned on it.
SP supporters swung into action soon after with posters bearing the name of their chief Akhilesh Yadav, being hosted outside their party’s office. He party’s national secretary, Vivek Singh Yadav, put up hoardings saying ‘I love Akhilesh’.
One special feature of these hoardings from the Opposition party is that they countered the bulldozer slogan with that of ‘I love education, development, employment’. They also carried images of Akhilesh’s popular work.
Also read: Akhilesh slams BJP over Kanpur case, says 'party working like a gang'
Protecting Constitution and Opposition unity
The Congress has also joined the poster war, first by putting them up in Kanpur and then in Lucknow, saying, ‘I love Rahul Gandhi’. Many of the party’s posters also featured the words “I love the Constitution”. Images of Rahul, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and others are also visible. Interestingly, many of the Congress’s posters have been put up alongside those featuring Akhilesh.
A poster erected by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh saying 'I love Constitution' with images of top leaders such as Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and others on it.
Clearly, such posters attempt to convey a narrative of protecting the Constitution and a message of Opposition unity. Political analysts view this poster war as a manifestation of the party workers’ enthusiasm and a strategy to counter each other.
Also read: Rahul, UP minister in heated exchange over protocol during meeting in Raebareli
The parties also benefit from them by the fact that their initiatives begin trending on social media, creating a favourable ambience which gives them traction. The administration, however, keeps a watch on the poster war to ensure that no untoward incident happens. The police administration has increased its surveillance to ensure better communal harmony, particularly in the festive season of Navratri and Dussehra.
(This story was first published in The Federal Desh)
