Sidhi: Baghelkhand’s influencers can’t even enjoy the monsoon clouds in peace without their fans recognising them. Not just selfies, sometimes the fans even insist on taking their favourite influencers home for a meal.
That’s what happened when Umesh Mishra and Kamta Prasad went trekking to Govindgarh hilltop in the Vindhya range of Madhya Pradesh’s Rewa district. They were accosted by an over-exuberant fan. Mahendra Singh, an advocate from a nearby village, recognised them as comedians Lakhan and Makhan who host the hugely popular YouTube channel Teen-Panch. He insisted that the two men come home for lunch.
It was only after Prasad (Makhan) promised to visit his family and hold a session of poetry and standup in the village in the local Bagheli dialect—similar to what they post on their channel—that Singh let them go their way.
But now, it has gone beyond gushing fandom. Their gravity-defying popularity in this parched region has now become an ethical dilemma — a rare one forced on influencers. In the election season, Madhya Pradesh’s BJP and Congress politicians are lining up too. They are not offering to take them home, but they definitely want a bit of influencer-dust to be sprinkled over the upcoming election campaign.
And that is posing the biggest challenge for the state’s YouTubers and Reel makers. Should they erode their credibility with fans by endorsing politics or continue with their arms-length away social commentary? In this run-up to the polls, virality is the hottest property for a generation that can switch loyalties with one swipe.
Influencer Cell is the new IT Cell in election-bound states. Rajasthan has also drawn up a list of local influencers and has started to woo them. They are the new movie stars. Ministers Smriti Irani, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and Piyush Goyal have all met BeerBiceps; during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi had dinner with Curly Tales editor Kamiya Jani.
“We do not mind making videos on schemes that have a positive impact and bring about a social change such as Ladli Behna, but making promotional videos or actively being involved in campaigns will threaten our credibility,” says Umesh Mishra, who is Makhan to Kamta Prasad’s Lakhan.
They started Teen Panch in 2014 with the aim of highlighting educational and cultural issues, and reviving the local Bagheli dialect spoken in the Vidhya region of Madhya Pradesh and the border areas of Uttar Pradesh. Taking inspiration on a range of issues from unemployment to Seema Haider’s illegal entry into India, the Teen Panch team is quick to rework a script with sharp puns and witty remarks. It is then shot in their village and uploaded on their YouTube channel.
Mishra’s sartorial choice—a crisp olive-green shirt paired with a pair of brown trousers and a blue gamcha (stoll) around his shoulders—reflects his position as an environmental professor at a college in Rewa. But after college hours, he trades his formal attire for a loose T-shirt and pants, and moonlights as a standup comic and influencer. That’s when he lets loose his demeanour as a professor and acts his part as witty Makhan. He is unfiltered and fearless.
Teen Panch has a loyal fan base in areas such as Malwa-Nimar, Vindhya, Bundelkhand and Maha Kaushal. Since its 2014 launch, the two friends have amassed 2.5 lakh followers on YouTube with viewership in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. One of their more popular videos, Sanjhe Ke Baap, in their Kissa Gaon Ke series has over 22 lakh views. The video about the ‘reality of a family breaking apart’ seems to have touched a nerve with many users commenting how it made them cry and how the team did something different other than posting humorous content.
When political narratives are being shaped by Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, even elderly party leaders who can’t differentiate their reels from gifs, have to brush up on their social media skills. With 14.5 lakh first time voters on MP’s electoral rolls, the stakes are high. If influencers offer Master Class on popularity, political leaders are likely to be the first in line. They want to ride on the coattails of influencers to connect to Gen Z voters from MP’s remote hinterlands.
They know their power is unparalleled and unmediated. They go straight into people’s palms. If wooing katha-vaachaks has been the game for harvesting souls in Madhya Pradesh BJP, then influencers are the next big thing for the hearts and minds, and well, attention. But influencers are acutely aware that they cannot afford to upset political bosses by saying, ‘but their credibility and YouTube dollars come from fans’.
And Reels are the new political manifestos. Last month in July, senior party leaders from the BJP and Congress countered each other using Bhojpuri songs. Neha Singh Rathore (25), a Bihar-based Bhojpuri artist released her song, ‘MP mein kaa ba?’— a thinly veiled reference to corruption scandals in the BJP government. Soon after this, another influencer, Anamika Jain Amber (37), released a song—MP mein mama magic karat hai—praising the state government.
“Social media influencers using their own local dialect will play a key role in reaching out to youth voters who neither watch TV nor read newspapers or magazines, but spend ample time on YouTube and Instagram,” said BJP spokesperson Hitesh Bajpai, who is overseeing the party’s social media campaign.
Also read: BJP eyes social media stars for 2024 campaign. Leaders to ‘bond’ with singers, dancers, vloggers
Politics is reaching out
It’s surreal for influencers like Indore-based Veer Sharma to be wooed by the chief minister himself. In June, Sharma posted a photo on Instagram of his meeting with CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan. While it received more than 2 lakh likes, some users were not impressed. “Oh, you’re into netagiri now,” was one snide comment. Another said Sharma is bound to lose followers if he has decided to ‘post politics’.
In the reel, Sharma and his channel partner, social media influencer Parul Ahirwar, show footage of them walking up to the CM in his office in Bhopal and Sharma touching Chouhan’s feet. As they pose for the many cameras, CM Chouhan, at Sharma’s urging, playfully calls Parul khebdi, the local slang used to describe someone with protruding front teeth. It’s a term Parul uses in her own Reels, and the group bursts into laughter. The video has received nearly 8.5 lakh likes, with over 4,500 comments. Many praised Chouhan for being a “people’s CM”, but others took potshots at him.
“Ine bure din aa gye mama ke kya kya karna padta h vote k liye,” read one of the comments, taking a jibe at the CM for his overtures, which seems to be a sign of his “bad days”.
Chouhan’s seemingly candid interaction with the duo took place at a special interaction with Madhya Pradesh’s social media influencers organised by the BJP. According to Sharma, he was approached by Indore incharge of BJP’s IT cell, Malay Dixit, to travel in the newly inaugurated Vande Bharat trains. He and 14 other influencers arrived in Bhopal on 29 June. Soon after, Veer was invited to another meeting where he was briefed about various welfare schemes and asked to make videos promoting them. Sharma was hooked, and saw it as a way to expand his reach, get likes, and comments.
“We are making videos that will make people aware whether it is from social evils such as alcoholism or about the benefits of various welfare schemes such as Awas Yojna,” said Sharma.
A choreographer from Indore, Sharma tasted online stardom with his dance videos on TikTok. When the government banned the Chinese app in India, Sharma and his 60 lakh followers transitioned to YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. He then collaborated with Ahirwar to produce Reels where they make fun of each other.
Sharma is currently working on a Reel on Mukhyamantri Seekho Kamao Yojana, which offers employment opportunities and free skill development training to youth. To convey the benefits of the scheme, Sharma is scripting a short ‘story’ of two friends. One is struggling to get a job while his enterprising friend enrols in the Yojana, acquires a skill, and gets a stipend as well.
The BJP’s social media cell has mapped out its plan to harness influencer star power.
“We will be hosting such influencers meet in all five major cities of the state and then in smaller towns as well,” said Abhishek Sharma, who heads the social media cell of the BJP in MP.
And the Congress isn’t far behind either. Abhay Tiwari, chairperson of the state party’s social media wing, said that the Congress laid the groundwork in 2020 when Kamal Nath was the Chief Minister.
“There are around 300 influencers from across the state that support the values of Congress and actively ally with us on social issues such as unemployment or safety of women in the state,” said Tiwari. The Congress is planning to hold a big meeting of all members heading social media in districts across MP on 23 August. Lists are being prepared and influencers are being followed on social media.
Congress spokesperson Piyush Babele tweeted a video targeting Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s 18-year governance in MP.
मध्य प्रदेश में भ्रष्टराज के ख़िलाफ़ ये वीडियो खूब वायरल हो रहा है।
जिसने भी बनाया है, जनभावनाओं को बखूबी व्यक्त किया है।
बेईमानों के मामू जान… pic.twitter.com/OMLClMhWmQ— Piyush Babele||पीयूष बबेले (@BabelePiyush) July 16, 2023
The Congress however did not reveal the identity of the influencer who made the video.
Also read: Rajasthan govt taps into reach of social media influencers, will pay up Rs 5 lakh to share ads
The influencers’ pushback
But not all influencers are willing to trade their hard-earned social currency for politics. The snide netagiri comments can sting. One influencer was bombarded with messages that he had sold out after he posted an interaction with Chouhan. After the initial tide of political popularity ebbed, his true fans moved on.
Unlike Sharma, influencer and thespian Himalaya Yadav from Chhatarpur in Bundelkhand region is conflicted. It has taken him more than five years since his debut as Hariya—the lead character in a YouTube Bagheli movie Jija ji Aaore—to gain 1.5 lakh subscribers. The movie struck a chord in the heart of Bundelkhand, as the illiterate Hariya makes his way in the world. Even today, in Bundelkhand, Yadav is easily recognisable as Hariya Bhaiya Bundeli Star. And there’s always the fear that political affiliation can erode the trust he has earned among his fans and followers.
“Our audience does not belong to any specific political ideology and if we openly produce content that can be seen as a campaign, our viewers will start commenting on our pages and put nasty comments below our videos. We don’t want to be directly involved in politics of any party,” says Yadav.
A month ago, he was approached by the BJP social media cell to make a video promoting some of the government’s village-related initiatives. Putting his team of 10 to work, Yadav spent over Rs 20,000 to make a short video on how the government’s Awas Yojana had transformed the lives of villagers.
But after submitting the video, he said he received Rs 5,000 for his work from the party. Since then, he hasn’t taken up any more offers for promotional content. The money was just too little for all the influence he surveys and wields. He is in the same line as Kim Kardashian and Kusha Kapila. He knows he can make more.
“If we agree to create promotional videos for any political party, we risk losing credibility with our audience. And we are not even being adequately compensated,” said Yadav, who has had two meetings with the BJP within two months.
Kamta Prasad of Teen Panch is also apprehensive of party promotional content. After all, Lakhan and Makhan were created to promote the Bagheli dialect, not a political party. That said, he is open to creating content around schemes such as the Ladli Behan Yojana where the impact is clearly visible on the ground. But that’s as far as he will push a political friendship.
“Our audience is connected to us because they believe in the originality of our content and trust the information we provide. We cannot blatantly campaign and discredit ourselves before our viewers.”
The BJP is working around this influencer pushback, and the meetings are simply a way for the social media cell to send out feelers and get feedback on what it should be doing.
“We understand that not all can work and some might also have reservations owing to their audience or simply they might be ideologically closer to the Congress. Mostly those that are ideologically aligned with the party and believe in the change it has brought in the country, to work [with us],” explained Abhishek Sharma. And despite Yadav’s experience, he insists that it is voluntary without any contract or payment, though the party does provide logistical help.
Tiwari too insisted that there is no monetary transaction involved in any of the Congress’ tie-ups with influencers.
“If we end up paying them, then it becomes paid content and they lose their essence as influencers. We do provide any support if they need and in case of FIRs being slapped on them, we give them legal support,” said Tiwari.
Also read: Attention influencers. You may soon be fined lakhs for false ads, or not disclosing paid content
Where the loyalty lies
Back in Rewa, in his single-storey house along the highway, Umesh Mishra gets ready to host a group of eight greenhorn, aspiring influencers for a session on social media popularity. The table in the drawing room displays the trophies and awards he has won over the years.
He’s proud of what the role he and Prasad have played in popularising Bagheli. There was a time when youth would leave Rewa to bigger cities for higher education, and look down on those speaking in Bagheli.
“People speaking Bagheli were seen as gavars (illiterates), but now even my colleagues in college use it,” says Mishra. He brought a certain cultural cache and swagger for those speaking Bagheli today. Now, conversing in the language has become a source of pride.
Teen Panch directly led to a wave of influencers mushrooming in the region. In the last decade, as many as 800-odd local YouTube channels have come up in the crowded Baghelkhand marketplace. Around 20 are active with a growing army of fans. Many who went on to start their own channels had first worked with Mishra and his team. They still turn to Lakhan and Makhan for advice. It’s a whole new ecosystem of local pride and a ladder for fame.
In the latest session in May, Mishra talks to 10 young influencers including four females about how to moderate comments and content on social media. Eye-grabbing videos and pranks are easy. Instead, he urges them to create interesting content on social issues.
When content is king, politics is an afterthought.
“Parties can come and go, but our loyalty is with the audience,” says Prasad.
(Edited by Prashant)