Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Credit: PTI Photo
Ranchi: Days after accusing the BJP of maligning his and Jharkhand's image through shadow campaigns, Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday charged the saffron party with launching a "whisper campaign" by spending over Rs 1 crore in each assembly constituency to influence voters.
Soren accused the BJP of bringing in people from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bengal to carry out this new gimmick, allegedly instilling fear among voters on roads and intersections during the election period.
Earlier, Soren had accused the BJP of running "shadow campaigns" to tarnish both his and the state's reputation.
He alleged that the saffron party spent crores of rupees on various social media platforms and created "95,000 WhatsApp groups" to campaign against the JMM-led coalition in Jharkhand.
"People from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Bengal are seen discussing the elections on roads and intersections in the constituencies where elections are being held. This is BJP's new gimmick, called the 'whisper campaign. For this, over Rs 1 crore has been spent in each constituency. They will not come and talk about their work; instead, they will scare you with lies," Soren said, sharing a video of the alleged campaign.
Soren said there was no truth to the whisper campaign.
"We haven't collected donations by playing with the lives of the countrymen through electoral bonds, fake medicines, or fake vaccines. Therefore, I appeal to all of you, the residents of Jharkhand, to openly campaign for me today and tomorrow, not in a 'whisper' — because it is not in the nature of Jharkhandis to be afraid," he said.
"Don't whisper, speak boldly!" Soren urged, sharing a video in which youths sitting in a choupal are seen praising the BJP and criticising the JMM for alleged corruption.
In response, the BJP claimed that these allegations reflected Soren's desperation, frustration, and fear of losing the elections.
Earlier, the Jharkhand Police had registered FIRs against the operators of two social media accounts for allegedly running campaigns aimed at maligning the image of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and the state.
These FIRs were filed after Soren and the ruling JMM accused the BJP of running "shadow" campaigns against them.
Soren had previously claimed that "dictators may possess billions of rupees," but he believed it was "better to stick to principles than win through unfair means."
"I want to present an important report to you. Crores of rupees have been spent on Facebook advertisements by the BJP to damage my and the state's image through a 'shadow campaign.' In the last 30 days, advertisements worth Rs 72 lakh have been spent on social media accounts like 'Jharkhand Chaupal' and 'Ranchi Chaupal.' If you see the content of these pages, you will understand that their sole purpose is to tarnish my image, spread religious frenzy, and create divisions among the people," Soren alleged.
The CM further claimed that while the BJP "spent crores of rupees to tarnish his image," he himself had "not spent a single rupee on any promotion," which, he said, could be verified by checking the ad library of any social media platform.
Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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