Explanation:
long time ago in a galaxy far, far away – on October 25, 2013 at the Government Inter-College Ground in Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh, to be precise – BJP’s 2014 prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi had demanded of the thronging crowd before him: ‘Aap mujhe chowkidar banaiye. Mein Dilli ja karke chowkidar ke tara beithunga, aur apko biswas dilato hoon, aap aisa chowkidar bithaoge, mein Hindustan ke tijori par koyi nahin panja parne dunga.’ (Make me a watchman. Once in Delhi, I will sit like a watchman, and I promise you, you will provide a seat to such a watchman, that I will not let any hand land on the safe.) By that ‘panja’, Modi obviously meant the Congress ‘hand’.
Cut to this Saturday, March 16, 2019. Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off his government’s ‘Main bhi chowkidar’ (I am a watchman too) Lok Sabha election campaign on social media. Taking the old ‘chowkidar’ cri de guerre out of the freezer has been easy, despite corruption not being an issue this election season.