Sunday surprise: #BJPMuktGujarat top Twitter trend, Gujarat BJP for the first time on backfoot on social media

Image of pulses in many tweets

By A Representative
Ever imagined what was trending at the very top on Twitter on Sunday morning? #BJPMuktGujarat! There was a virtual flow of tweets on the theme, with mostly Gujaratis from the middle-classes strongly supporting the “need” for change in the state following the announcement of local body elections, be held in November-end.
Next to #BJPMuktGujarat to trend on twitter was #AAPNotWithDelhi, followed by #HelloEmblem3, #FloridaState and #SelfieForNash. This continued till about 10 am, after which #MannKiBaat started trending at the top.
Many of the top tweets in the #BJPMuktGujarat category, came from the Patidaar community, whose supreme leader 22-year-old Hardik Patel is currently in custody under sedition charges. They pointed towards how Gujarat is a failed model, even as suggesting how price rise has hit the common man.
Some even suggested that change is already visible. “Patel Quota stir effect: NSUI wins most seats in Surat colleges October 24, 2015”, said @3voiceshy, quoting an Indian Express report on Sunday, which says that of the 70 colleges under the Veer Narmad University of Surat, the National Students Union of India, Congress' students wing, claims to have won 52.

Then there were tweets like by the one by @vimaymunoth74, which says, “Ram jethmalani said NaMo has fooled people of this country. #BJPMuktGujarat”, and “change it to #modimuktgujrat @Bjp is not so bad #BJPMuktGujarat”, suggesting that some of the BJP supporters were also part of the campaign.
A few tweets highlighted basic developmental issues such as the one by @faridapatel “BJP is ruling on Guj over 25yrs. But still today not only villages bt cities r also lacking basic facilities #BJPMuktGujarat.”
While there was a continuous flow of tweets from the Congress' IT cell to chip in and seek to “explode” the Gujarat model, the BJP tweets are found to be seeking to send in their reply pretty meekly.
While officially there is no tweet from the BJP in Gujarat, @BJPMissionAssam has been fielded to say, “#AAPNotWithDelhi #BJPMuktGujarat #bjpwithGujrat #bjpwithIndia. #Presstitutes @aajtak @ndtv @TimesNow avoid those”.
Many tweets displayed huge images of the prices of pulses in Gujarat, as also showing a comparison of the “simplicity” Narendra Modi before he joined politics and a man in rich attire after he became Gujarat chief minister, of poverty in Gujarat, and of how law and order situation in Gujarat has deteriorated.
Then, there were tweets which said, “bjp is killing d poor n empowering d corporates..beware of bjp....its as dark as dangerous for d country #BJPMuktGujarat”, and “Not just #BJPMuktGujarat but ##BJPMuktIndia too... They have rotten India to its core in just one year. Great accomplishment, Narendra Modi”.

A BJP reply to #BJPMuktGujarat

There were few tweets, which said #BJPMuktGujarat is “not possible”, or it is the “joke of the day”, or “#BJPMuktGujarat is like water without ocean”. But such critical tweets were very few. Refusing to give any credit to Congress' IT cell, one @mukeshpathakji tweeted, “#BJPMuktGujarat is trending... thanks to all the fake accounts run by #aaptards and other sootiyas”.
According to keen observers, a major reason why #BJPMuktGujarat became the main trending event on Sunday morning was, the Gujarat government dilly-dallied on local body elections for rather too long, going so far as to issue an ordinance to postpone it. However, the State Election Commission was forced to announce polls following a High Court order.
How nervous the BJP in Gujarat can be gauged from a TV interview by chief minister Anandiben Patel, who accused the Congress of “clandestinely supporting” the pro-quota agitation of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS). She did not say whether her allusion was to the Congress has demanded a 15 per cent reservation for the economically poor sections of the dominant castes outside the other backward class (OBC) quota.

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