Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis emerged as BJP's face in Maharashtra civic bodies poll campaign-related publicity material, with a new video hitting the social media on Friday that lauded the work initiated by him since assuming charge in October 2014.
The 2.43 minutes video titled 'This is our Devendra' has been released in Hindi and Marathi and lists various developmental schemes under Fadnavis' leadership in the state, including those for women's security and employment.
Also out is a comic book-like caricature strip, showing Fadnavis as the harbinger of water to drought-hit Latur last year, when the state government ran 'water trains' to the Marathwada town. The strip shows people of Latur thanking Fadnavis, who is seen peeping from clouds bringing rain.
There is also a Marathi audio jingle on local radio stations doing the rounds, which asks voters to remember the "surgical strikes by the Modi government and the good work by Fadnavis". The jingle is in the form of a powada, a kind of ballad written in an exciting style and used to narrate historical events in an inspiring manner.
Added to this are hoardings on city roads and memes and photos on social media.
Posters featuring Fadnavis and declaring "ha shabda maza ahe (this is my word)" have been put up all over the city to counter Sena posters, which claim credit for work done by the civic body. The BJP posters have the tagline as "parivartan tar honarach (change will happen)" denoting its resolve to dethrone the Sena in the BMC.
Besides the official BJP posters and social media accounts, animated videos depicting the Shiv Sena as a "corrupt tiger" being controlled by a "lion" are also making the rounds.
Shiv Sena, former allies of the saffron party with whom the BJP is engaged in acerbic war of words, lost no time in hitting out against Fadnavis. "Fadnavis is soon going to become an ex-Chief Minister. He has opened up a 'clean chit factory' where hooligans and criminals are promptly given a clean chit by him. There will be a drastic change in the political situation of Maharashtra after February 23," Shiv Sena Sanjay Raut said.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia accused Shiv Sena and BJP of indulging in corruption in Briahanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and neglecting development of the city.
Scindia, who participated in a roadshow for the February 21 BMC polls, in suburban Andheri this evening, said Sena and BJP ruled BMC for the last 20 years, but did not transform it.
"If they wanted, they could have made Mumbai the most beautiful city not only in India, but in the world. However, there was no will to do so," Scindia said.
Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam accompanied Scindia in the road show.
(With inputs from agencies)