By Rakhi Bose

A middle-aged suburban couple’s home in Jharkhand is ransacked by a mob of purported hoodlums who break into the house and steal what they can while destroying what they cannot take. The trespassers-both men and women-are dressed in skullcaps and headscarves, implying their religion and some of them refuse to leave the house, claiming its theirs now. In the end, the couple is blamed for their own loss, implying they brought such a situation upon themselves when they voted for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).

The inflammatory and openly Islamophobic video is part of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) electoral campaign and was posted on the party’s Jharkhand unit social media handles ahead of the assembly elections that took place in two phases across the state. Despite such campaigning, the party now finds itself on the backfoot in Jharkhand where counting of votes of the recently concluded Assembly election are underway and the JMM-led INDIA bloc is surging towards a win.

The controversial ad left the party in the midst of a political slugfest after Opposition leaders called for action against the video, prompting the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take note. The ECI found the video to be in violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), based on complaints by the Congress and the JMM, and ordered the video be taken down. The poll panel has also sought an explanation from the state unit of the BJP over the incident and an FIR has been registered at the cyber-crime police station under relevant sections for violation of the MCC.

The party has previously released videos depicting actors playing the role of Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Kalpana Soren and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav. The leaders are shown as “corrupt” outsiders plotting to take over Jharkhand with the help of other “outsiders”, (indicating alleged Bangladeshi Muslims). The video drew sharp criticism from multiple quarters.

The adverts have received harsh criticism from Opposition leaders. Addressing the EC, the JMM posted on X: “Will elections be held like this in the country now? How far will you allow the country to fall in the name of Hindus and Muslims? Have some shame and wake up. Show me some courage. Today BJP has crossed all limits of shamelessness and vulgarity.”

This story was originally published in outlookindia.com. Read the full story here.