New Delhi: BJP organisational general secretary BL Santhosh is not amused by the Uttar Pradesh BJP’s lacklustre response to pro-opposition social media content, like the viral rap ‘UP Mein Ka Ba’ by Neha Rathore. To turn the tables, he has recommended using ChatGPT for snappy content and recruiting milkmen and Zomato delivery executives as influencers for the 2024 elections.
Party leaders told ThePrint that these and other strategies to add “wow factor” to the BJP’s narrative were discussed last weekend during Santhosh’s meeting on poll preparations with Uttar Pradesh BJP core group members at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s residence in Lucknow.
“Santosh said that our content is not powerful and that is why it is not getting enough traction, retweets, and likes from people. He thinks we should not be complacent about countering the narrative build-up by the opposition ecosystem,” said a BJP functionary who was present in the poll strategy meeting, which also included members of the social media team and vistaraks, or full-time grassroots workers tasked with building the party’s support base.
Uttar Pradesh is a critical state for the BJP, which secured 62 out of a total of 80 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections.
Keeping this in mind, said party leaders, Santhosh wanted to ensure that the BJP maintains a pervasive presence in the state, with its message spread through viral videos, compelling social media posts, and WhatsApp groups. Even Zomato or Swiggy orders, Santhosh suggested, should now come with a delivery of the BJP’s message.
Here’s a look, in greater detail, at some of the strategies discussed in the meeting.
Neha Rathore to Manipur— push for counter-narratives
Ahead of the UP assembly polls last year, singer-poet Neha Rathore’s ‘UP Mein Ka Ba’, which roughly translates to ‘What’s there in UP?’, created a stir, as did her follow-up videos taking swipes at the Yogi government, including his style of “bulldozer justice”.
Her first rap taking on the Yogi government, notably, was uploaded on YouTube as a response to a song released by BJP MP Ravi called ‘UP Mein Sab Ba’, which means ‘everything is in UP’. In this battle of songs, hers gained a lot more traction.
The functionary quoted earlier said BL Santhosh discussed Rathore’s viral videos and the BJP’s failure to counter them quickly by uploading catchy songs of its own.
“Santhosh acknowledged that there were popular songs in favour of the BJP like Kanhaiya Mittal’s ‘Jo Ram Ko Laye Hai Hum Unko Layenge’ (we will bring in those who brought in Lord Ram), but these came from society and not our system. He said we should be prompt with our counter-narratives on social media, which has huge reach and influences many,” he said.
Another functionary said that Santhosh also used the example of the BJP machinery’s tepid response to a the shocking viral video from Manipur that showed two disrobed women being paraded by a mob.
“Santosh pointed out that although the video was two months old, once it went viral, we should have promptly propagated a comparison of other states’ atrocities against women,” the functionary said.
“Similar rape cases were reported from Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Begusarai in Bihar, but we couldn’t sustain the momentum of publishing more content to expose these cases. Instead, we moved on in two-three days. Santhosh said that for narrative-building, we should have a more focused social media campaign,” he added.
Riding trends, using AI
A third BJP functionary who was present at the meeting also said that Santhosh asked party leaders to be more “innovative” in creating social media content, and to speed up their work by using generative Artificial Intelligence platforms such as ChatGPT.
He further advised them that this was not a carte blanche and that “all content exposing the opposition should stay within the bounds of decency”.
Even on-ground vistaraks were asked to ramp up their social media savvy, this functionary said.
“Santhosh emphasised the need to train vistaraks in social media outreach within their respective constituencies. When he asked one vistarak to tell him a trending topic in UP, the worker was not able to do so. Santhosh then informed him that the ASI Gyanvapi issue is presently a hot topic in Uttar Pradesh and advised the vistarak to stay informed about ongoing debates,” the functionary added.
‘3,000 WhatsApp groups in every constituency’
In the last UP assembly election, the BJP machinery operated two lakh WhatsApp groups, party sources told ThePrint. These included roughly 500 groups in each assembly segment, which served as real-time communication channels to reach the party’s cadre.
Now, the party aims to create at least 3,000 groups in each of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in UP, said functionaries.
Also on the to-do list is to increase the number of followers on Facebook and Twitter. The Uttar Pradesh BJP currently boasts 56 lakh followers on its Facebook page, and their target is to increase this to one crore. Similarly, on Twitter, the party has 44 lakh followers and is working to expand this base.
Asked about these goals, Ankit Chandel, the head of the UP BJP’s IT cell, told ThePrint: “It was a review meeting, and he (Santhosh) gave many suggestions to boost the party’s infrastructure at the booth level and strategise for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. From time to time, we receive suggestions from our leaders to make our campaign more focused.”
Tapping into potential of milkmen, delivery boys
While reviewing the party’s strategy for the Lok Sabha polls, Santhosh urged party members to explore innovative ways to reach new voters and expand the party’s base.
He suggested engaging Zomato and Swiggy delivery personnel, milkmen, and newspaper vendors to also deliver a good word for the BJP while on their rounds.
“His thrust was on adding a new section of voters and exploring fresh strategies to expand our social base. In today’s times, many people use apps for food and grocery delivery. The delivery persons who go from house to house can be good influencers if we tap them for promoting our party’s ideology and communicating our developmental work,” said the first functionary.
‘Tea and tiffin meetings’ with BJP veterans
Perhaps taking a cue from disgruntled senior party seniors in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, Santosh highlighted the importance of not alienating veterans and advised keeping them involved in decision-making processes.
“Every senior leader who has been with the party for a long time holds influence in their area and among the people. We should ensure they don’t feel alienated,” said a UP BJP general secretary. “By having tea or tiffin meetings with them, we can show that we care about their well-being and value their involvement. Decisions should be taken collectively to avoid resentment within the party.”
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
Also Read: What happened at NDA meet: Calls for synergy & WhatsApp group, praise for PM but ‘no road map’