BJP, Shiv Sena locked in cartoon war

Shiv Sena has dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi a ‘churan baba’ (fraud) in a cartoon recently released on social media. The caricature is one of many that severely criticise the BJP and Mr Modi.

The BJP supporters, however, did not take this lying down and put out cartoons targeting Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, one of which depicts him as a frog that “only croaks during the monsoon”.

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) polls inching nearer, the allies’ bickering and sniping are becoming daily occurrences. However, when leaders from both parties were contacted, they refused to comment on the development, saying the cartoons did not reflect their parties’ official stands. However, the Sena cartoons carry the party's name, and in some cases the party symbol, while the BJP ones declare support for NaMo, meaning Narendra Modi.

An independent artist Ganesh Bhalerao from Pimpri-Chinchwad, who had drawn one of the anti-BJP cartoons, said his work was carrying forward the legacy of late Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray. “It is not the official stand of the party, but I am trying to preserve legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray through these cartoons,” Mr Bhalerao said.

The late Balasaheb Thackeray was a renowned cartoonist and had many a time attacked the BJP via his cartoons.

In one Shiv Sena cartoon, Modi carries a suitcase with ‘Churan Baba’ written on it. He is also portrayed as a habitual tourist who is oblivious to sufferings of the people, who are battling inflation. In another, he is depicted as a tyrant, who is bent on infringing upon the citizens’ freedom of speech.

The Sena chief is a prominent target in the BJP supporters’ cartoons. In one cartoon Mr Thackeray is labelled the Pappu (a derogatory reference to Congress’ Rahul Gandhi) of Maharashtra.