With the election scene hotting up, the Congress in Gujarat has sought to woo migrants from north India by highlighting the close rapport between BJP stalwart Narendra Modi and MNS chief Raj Thackeray through a poster campaign.
Raj, whose Maharashtra-based party is known for its strident anti-north Indian stand, has declared his support for the BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate.
This has provided ammunition to the Congress to target BJP, which is making an all out effort to win a large chunk of seats in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, which together send a whopping 120 MPs to the Lok Sabha.
Posters by the Congress have appeared in this south Gujarat city with a photo of Modi and Raj, and a message directed at the people of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar residing here.
"Dushman ka dushman dost hota hai, to dushman ka dost dushman kyon nahi? (If enemy's enemy is considered friend, why enemy's friend can't be considered an enemy)?" ask the posters which have the name of a local Congress office-bearer.
"Awake! people of UP and Bihar, the country will win only if you cast vote. People of UP and Bihar were selectively beaten up in Maharashtra," the message read.
The anti-BJP campaign is targeted at an estimated 4.5 lakh migrants from these two states, who reside in this industrial city, known for its diamond related works.
We want those who have migrated here to carry this message (against BJP) to UP and Bihar also, Youth Congress city unit vice-president Anup Rajput told PTI today.
"We will put such posters in UP and Bihar too and appeal to people to vote against BJP," said Rajput, who hails from Basti district of UP.
"Modi is going to file his nomination from Varanasi and people know his ties with Raj. I am sure they would not vote for him," he added.
The photograph in the posters was taken during Raj's visit to Gujarat during Modi's three-day Sadbhavna (harmony) fast in September 2011.
"This is my independent work to awaken the people of UP and Bihar, and ask them not to cast their vote in favour of their "enemy" Raj Thackeray's friend Narendra Modi," Rajput said.
