PM changes name on Twitter to 'Chowkidar Narendra Modi', other top BJP leaders follow suit

New Delhi, Mar 17: Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday amplified 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2019.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday renamed his Twitter handle to "Chowkidar Narendra Modi". He also urged supporters to take the #MainBhiChowkidar pledge against corruption.

Shortly after the PM, Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal JP Nadda, Amit Malviya and Tajinder Bagga also prefixed 'chowkidar' to their names on Twitter.

Several BJP chief ministers, including Uttarakhand CM Trivdendra Singh Rawat and Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das, also changed their names on Twitter.

The PM had launched the 'Main Bhi Chowkidar' campaign on Saturday, calling upon citizens to take the pledge to fight against corruption and other social evils.

The campaign appeared to be a jibe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, who has often used the phrase "chowkidar chor hai" (the watchman is a thief) as a taunt to the prime minister while referring to the controversial Rafale jet deal.

In order to boost the campaign, the prime minister's twitter handle began sending out automated "thank you" tweets to every Twitter handle that had used the #MainBhiChowkidar hashtag. While many Twitter users expressed joy at receiving what seemed like a personalised message from Narendra Modi, the automated messages also reached a host of parody accounts and accounts of people that are known to be critical of the prime minister or his party.