Congress candidate Chameli Sarkar copies PM Narendra Modi's advertising campaign

KOLKATA: A Congress candidate in Kolkata has brazenly copied Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha advertising campaign for the upcoming Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) general elections in the state, which will be held on April 18.

Chameli Sarkar, a candidate from ward number 50 has launched an extensive outdoor campaign in Hindi and Bengali saying "Abki baar Chameli Sarkar", which is a direct copy of Modi's 2014 ad campaign "Abki baar Modi Sarkar". Atleast 50 posters have been put up by the candidate in the prime SN Banerjee and Lenin Sarani streets in Kolkata.

Rahul Sinha, president, West Bengal unit of the BJP said political parties do not officially own copyright of ad slogans and taglines like corporates. "Imitation is the best form of flattery", he said. Thus the party cannot take any legal action against the copied ad.

He further added, "Whatever Modiji does becomes a trend. Even his ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' has now been adopted by Trinamool Congress. And it is Modiji's appeal because of which people are now cloning his ad campaign."

But Congress party has come up with a unique explanation for this direct lift. Ranajit Mukherjee, chairman, digital media of Congress said, "In municipal elections, we allow candidates the freedom to design their own campaigns within the ideological parameters of the party. In this ad, the candidate has used an intelligent pun to ask for change in her ward...."