LUCKNOW: From cobra to nevala (mongoose), double engine to daggaamaar vaahan (rickety vehicle), unique metaphors were used in the political slugfest on Twitter over the defection of more than a dozen MLAs to
Samajwadi Party, leaving netizens in splits.
The political banter started on January 11, when
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia described UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad
Maurya
as ‘sun’ and former minister and OBC leader
Swami
Prasad Maurya as ‘andhkaar’ (darkness) in a tweet later deleted.
Maurya resigned from his post more than 12 hours after the tweet, and two more ministers also resigned while 10 MLAs quit BJP.
On Thursday, taking dig at BJP, Maurya tweeted, “Naag-roopee RRS evam saanp-roopee BJP ko Swami roopee nevala UP se khatm karake hee dam lega… (Swami will be the mongoose which will finish the cobra-like RSS and snake-like BJP from UP (sic).”
Hours after Maurya’s tweet, BJP state president
Swatantra Dev Singh
tweeted: “Jinhein ‘double-engine’ kee train ka ticket nahin mil raha unhein apne daggaamaar vaahan ka ‘black’ mein ticket de rahe hain Tipu Sultan!.. (Those not given ticket in double-engine train are being offered ticket in black by
Tipu Sultan for a ride in his rickety vehicle-like party).”
On Wednesday, law minister Brajesh Pathak had tweeted that “BJP is that “sun” that has spread the light of development and eradicated the darkness of corruption...”
A Twitter handle manager of a senior political leader said, “The words used in tweets are carefully selected to target the opponent and show a sense of superiority. This slugfest will intensify ahead and the choicest metaphors will be used.”
Arvind Chauhan is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated h...
Read MoreArvind Chauhan is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated history of working in the newspapers industry as well as for the social media wing as digital content creator. He has covered subjects like railways, aviation, defence, energy, health, real estate, minority affairs, women and child development, crime, customs, telecom, district court, district administration, roads and infrastructure, armed forces tribunal, and regional politics across Uttar Pradesh. He began his career in Lucknow, and has done reporting in West Uttar Pradesh. He has won the Times Scribe Award four times including for busting fake news, and extensive coverage on Covid orphans. He graduated with a journalism degree from Times School of Journalism and BA (Honors) in English from Lucknow University.
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