The fight between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is intensifying with each passing day. First, it was a war of words, then it was a poster battle followed by a meme fight. Now, the clash has gone down to the level of capturing regional blocks with the BJP claiming that the AAP mocking Manoj Tiwari was tantamount to making fun of 'Purvanchalis', a term often referred to non resident people from Bihar.
The Delhi BJP tweeted a video with a voice over in Bhojpuri, a language spoken by Purvanchalis and Tiwari alike. The tweet in the Bhojpuri language claimed: "Aam Aadmi Party is demeaning Manoj Tiwari. Actually, it is a disrespect towards those very Purvanchalis who have settled in Delhi to earn a living."
The Delhi BJP didn't stop at that and went on to claim: "This is a disregard for the Bhojpuri language and a massive attack on the Purvanchali ethos."
This counter attack by the BJP comes in the wake of a series of videos posted by the AAP and its leaders where footage from old music videos of Manoj Tiwari was taken and used with a political motive. In fact, Delhi BJP has sought Rs 500 crore in damages from the AAP for tweeting Manoj Tiwari's edited video.
While the AAP's intention was to drive home the point that Tiwari, whose popularity comes from his association with the Bhojpuri film industry, is a non serious leader; the BJP equating it with an attack on people from Bihar seems to have backfired on the AAP.
Delhi has a significant Purvanchali population, that all parties are eyeing in this poll season.
