The #SinglevoteBJP is trending on Twitter after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician D. Karthik secured only one vote, after standing in local village council polls in India's Tamil Nadu state.
Netizens couldn't conceal their glee as they pointed out that even his four family members didn't vote for him.
Noted writer-activist Meena Kandasamy applauded Karthik’s relations for voting for others, Congress politician Ashok Kumar mocked BJP’s presence in Tamil Nadu state.
After becoming the butt of jokes on social media, Karthik clarified in an interview with 'The New Indian Express' that he took part in the election as an independent candidate instead of representing BJP.
However, a Twitter user pointed out that Karthik campaigned extensively using photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and seven other leaders appear on his election campaign posters.
“I didn’t stand on behalf of BJP. I stood in the election as an independent candidate on a car symbol. My family has four votes and all the votes are in ward four of the panchayat. Even my four family members and I have no vote in the ninth ward where I stood,” Karthik told The New Indian Express.
“Meanwhile, I am being wrongly mentioned in social media by trollers that I had stood on behalf of BJP and could not even be voted for by my family, which is not true," Karthik added.
Netizens, on the other hand, sparked a meme fest on social media, poking fun at him.