An advertisement issued by the BJP has evoked strong protest in Himachal Pradesh.

The ad shows chief minister Virbhadra Singh and his MP wife Pratibha Singh as a greedy king and queen and runs with the slogan: “Janata Chautarfa behaal, Raja-Rani malamal.”

But it’s not just the Congress that is protesting. A day before senior BJP leaders hit the campaign trail in Himachal Pradesh, the party in the state is unhappy over the ad as well.

Its state unit says they were surprised to see the ad, which was issued by the party in Delhi. State party president Jairam Thakur and other senior leaders fielded frantic calls from unhappy candidates through the day.

Meanwhile, chief minister Vidharbha Singh who was campaigning at Gumerwin said, “I am not surprised by the ad and its contents. The BJP can’t stop itself from lowering the standards of the campaign. So it has chosen to be make its a personal attack. But such an undignified campaign will not pay off in Himachal.”

The BJP in Himachal too appears to agree with it. What has upset some party men is the timing of the ad. Senior BJP leaders— L.K. Advani, Rajnath Singh, Venkaiah Naidu, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj— are scheduled to start their campaign in the state on Wednesday.

Says Thakur, “I feel the ad may not send the right message since the campaign has just started. Right now there is a need for an issue-based campaign.”

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