Congress's Poster Attack On Shivraj Singh Chouhan Draws A PhonePe Warning

A poster campaign by the Congress in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh has drawn a sharp warning from digital payments company PhonePe.

As the ruling BJP and Congress rev up their election machinery for the Assembly polls due later this year, a poster war has broken out. Both parties are plastering walls with posters with pictures of key leaders from the other side and QR codes that guide people to propaganda.

As part of the campaign, posters with pictures of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have come up in several parts of the state. The posters, similar to QR codes in shops, accused the BJP veteran of demanding commission to get work done. The posters also featured PhonePe's brand name and logo.

Pictures of the posters were shared by the state Congress unit on its Twitter handle. "Get 50 per cent, get the work done over the phone. The people of Madhya Pradesh know, they recognise those who take 50 per cent commission," read the Twitter post in Hindi.

The campaign has now drawn a sharp response from PhonePe, who have objected to the unauthorised use of its logo.

"PhonePe objects to the unauthorized usage of its brand logo, by any third party, be it political or non-political. We are not associated with any political campaign or party.

"The PhonePe logo is a registered trademark of our company and any unauthorized use of PhonePe's intellectual property rights will invite legal action. We humbly request @INCMP to remove the posters and banners featuring our brand logo and colour," the digital payments firm tweeted.

The poster campaign in Madhya Pradesh is straight out of the playbook that the Congress followed in Karnataka and reaped high political dividends. There, in the run-up to the polls, posters with pictures of then Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai and the "40 per cent sarkara" and "PayCM" slogans were key elements in the Congress' campaign.

In Madhya Pradesh, the Congress claims, it is the BJP which started the poster war with "Wanted Commission Nath" - a charge at state Congress chief Kamal Nath -- posters that came up last week.

The BJP had, however, denied involvement in putting up the posters and said they were an outcome of infighting within the Congress.