Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday tried his hand at ambush marketing, a tactic usually used by consumer brands to steal their rival’s thunder, and got himself ambushed by “@niiravmodi”.

This “NiiMo”, who calls himself “Nirav Modi Fan”, was auto-addressed by the Prime Minister as “Dear Nirav” who concluded their endearing conversation with the disarming question: “Sir main loan maaf pakka samjhu?”

Prime Minister Modi had launched a #MainBhiChowkidar (I too am a watchman) campaign on Twitter in the morning in an obvious attempt to blunt Rahul Gandhi’s catchline “Chowkidar chor hai”.

Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, he decided to make it interactive. “Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar,” Modi tweeted, encouraging people to take the #MainBhiChowkidar pledge.

Among those who took the Prime Minister’s appeal to heart and responded was @niiravmodi, a parody account inspired by the diamond dealer who has been accused of defrauding a public sector bank of at least Rs 13,000 crore.

Catastrophe soon struck in the digital world of auto responses. @niiravmodi was welcomed with open arms by Narendra Modi, who wrote: “@niiravmodi Your participation makes the #MainBhiChowkidar movement stronger. Here is my message for you.”

BJP chief Amit Shah greets Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. Picture by Prem Singh

The message, which carries a picture of the Prime Minister and the slogan Main Bhi Chowkidar, reads: “Dear Nirav, Your participation in the ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ movement will go a long way in creating a prosperous and secure India. Let us together guard our nation against poverty, corruption, dirt, terrorism and all such evils.”

It is signed Narendra Modi, in Hindi.

@niiravmodi, who uses as his display picture the photograph of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in the ostrich hide jacket taken recently in London, was quick with his response again.

“Sir loan maaf karwao sara,” he wrote (Sir, get the entire loan waived).

Nirav Modi is wanted in the Rs 13,000-crore Punjab National Bank scam. He fled India last year and was tracked down in London by The Daily Telegraph earlier this month. The last time Nirav had been seen in public was on January 23, 2018, in Davos, where he posed for a group photograph with Narendra Modi.

The Prime Minister has been under fire for letting the scam accused escape.

On Saturday, @niiravmodi would not let go. He tweeted: “Modi ji deleted the tweet. Sir main loan maaf pakka samjhu?” (Sir, do I take it that the loan waiver is confirmed?”)

Then, in Hindi: “The chowkidar is my friend, an equal partner in my chori (theft).”

The claim by @niiravmodi that his tweet had been deleted suggests it had hit home and caused enough embarrassment that warranted its removal.

This wasn’t the only controversial chowkidar the Prime Minister welcomed on Saturday. Another was @AmbaniKaChela who goes by the name “Narendra Modi”.

The Prime Minister wrote: “@AmbaniKaChela Your solidarity with the #MainBhiChowkidar movement is deeply appreciated. I salute your passion for a New India. Here is my message.”

The message: “Dear Narendra, You have an important role in creation of a new India which is strong and secure. Thank you for joining the ‘Main bhi Chowkidar’ movement and strengthening it with your support.”

Modi’s campaign carries echoes of ambush marketing, through which companies seek to reap dividends from an event at the expense of a rival’s association with that event. Coincidentally, Modi has chosen the tactic at a time the cricket World Cup is looming on the horizon — the most famous instance of ambush marketing in India was during the 1996 World Cup when Pepsi took out Coca-Cola’s fizz with the “There’s nothing official about it” campaign.

Another “proud” chowkidar who drew attention was M.J. Akbar, who had to quit last year as Union minister following the MeToo scandal.

The Congress, which has made “chowkidar chor hai” its campaign slogan, couldn’t help crowing: “It’s great to see that Modi is still in touch with his buddies.”

The BJP hit back, tweeting: “Dishonesty, deceit, photoshopped images and fake news is your identity. For decades, your leaders have used those techniques to loot, plunder and ruin India. It is against this Congress culture that India stands vigilant and says- #MainBhiChowkidar.”

The Congress persisted: “Dear BJP, We’re sorry your campaign backfired. We sympathise with your pain & frustration. Maybe you should make an effort to be real than rely on bots.” Bots are autonomous programs designed to behave like actual followers.

But @niiravmodi, whose Twitter profile declares he is “Businessman, Diamantaire legacy parody”, gives his location as “Not in India for sure” and says he joined in “February 2018”, had the last word: “Hello @BJP4India This is not fake, Modi ji did it. Don’t change the goalpost. Just change the chowkidar. #MainBhiChowkidar”.