Modi remove 'chowkidar' prefix; says time to take spirit to next level

Narendra Modi. Pic/Twitter IANS

After a thumping victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday removed the 'chowkidar' prefix from his Twitter handle but said that the word remains an integral part of him. PM Modi had added chowkidar in his Twitter handle on March 17, a day after launching the "Main Bhi Chowkidar (I am a watchman too)" campaign on social media.

"Now, the time has come to take the Chowkidar Spirit to the next level. Keep this spirit alive at every moment and continue working for India's progress," he tweeted.

Several BJP leaders including party president Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and Arun Jaitley also followed suit and dropped the prefix from their profiles. Modi said the word 'Chowkidar' goes from his Twitter name, "but it remains an integral part of me. Urging you all to do the same too!"

The campaign was launched days after the Lok Sabha polls were announced on March 10 to counter Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's repeated "chowkidar chor hai" (watchman is a thief) jibes on Modi over alleged irregularities in the Rafale jet deal. Gandhi had latched on to the jibe in most of his election rallies.

During the 2014 election campaign, Modi had said that he would work like a chowkidar to protect people's money and interests once elected.

As the counting came to an end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recorded a spectacular victory in Varanasi, clocking a margin of 4,75,754 votes. Modi polled a total of 6,69,602 votes while his nearest rival, Shalini Yadav of the Samajwadi Party (SP), got 1,93,848. Ajay Rai of the Congress got 1,51,800 votes.

Varanasi has been celebrating the Prime Minister's victory since the morning with songs, dance, and sweets. According to sources, Modi will visit Varanasi next week to offer thanks and prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath temple.

With inputs from PTI

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