An online advertisement associated with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has faced widespread criticism for allegedly promoting anti-Muslim sentiments.
Released on Saturday as part of an election campaign in eastern India’s Jharkhand, the video sparked outrage during the state’s ongoing assembly elections.
The first phase of voting took place on 13 November, with the second phase scheduled for 20 November and results to be announced on 23 November.
The controversy stems from the advert’s depiction of Muslims entering the home of an opposition supporter.
A woman is shown gesturing as if the newcomers bring an unpleasant odour, while Muslim children dirty the furniture, and women fully covered in hijabs and niqabs appear to take over the house.
The video provoked strong condemnation, with critics accusing the ruling BJP of stoking hatred against Muslims and other minority groups.
“Modi’s BJP is using Islamophobic propaganda for election campaigning. India’s Election Commission has become too subservient to Modi to stop this madness,” Indian-Swedish academic Ashok Swain said in a post on X.
Mehbooba Mufti, leader of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party (PDP), also condemned the advertisement, calling it “deplorably communal” and an affront to the “secular fabric of the nation.”
“BJP’s campaign in the Jharkhand elections would make the Kashmiri leadership turn in their graves. They chose to join a secular, democratic India despite Jammu and Kashmir being a Muslim-majority state,” Mufti wrote on X.
“This choice was made with the vision of a pluralistic nation where all religions could coexist peacefully and honourably.”
In response to the controversy, the Election Commission of India (ECI) ordered the removal of the video from BJP’s social media platforms on Sunday, stating that it appeared to violate the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in place during the elections.
The ECI directed Jharkhand’s Chief Electoral Officer to ensure the video was taken down, and the BJP has since removed the ad from all online platforms.
Tensions surrounding BJP’s campaign tactics were already high before the video’s release.
In September, Indian Home Minister Amit Shah referred to Bangladeshis and Rohingyas as “infiltrators” and declared that, under BJP rule, “every infiltrator will be hanged upside down.”
Critics argue that Islamophobia has been a recurring theme in BJP campaigns. For instance, during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, a BJP-affiliated X account based in southwest India’s Karnataka shared an inflammatory animation alleging that Congress was facilitating Muslim dominance over other communities.
The post prompted local police to issue a notice directing its removal for violating laws.
Similarly, the BJP’s official Instagram account posted another animated video portraying Muslims as invaders, pushing the narrative that Congress aimed to redistribute wealth from Hindus to Muslims.
This post was also later deleted.
