NEW DELHI

BJP's social media gambit reaps rich dividends

BJP (File) BJP flag

The BJP did not just score over its rivals in terms of getting more votes, it has also been able to connect with a large number of people through the social media in the run-up to the elections.

Social media has been BJP’s mainstay in reaching out to people, apart from the traditional method like rallies and personal contact. However, its rivals like Samajwadi party and the BSP mostly relied on traditional medium.

BJP leaders give a peek into its campaign style.

“The BJP’s social media had great impact on the elections. We have been doing it for seven to eight months. Our focus was on highlighting SP’s government failure and also BSP misrule. We highlighted the fact that BJP can provide clean and effective government. We were closely monitoring what was happening in social media and maintained a lead over our rivals. We ran a big campaign called 'Mann Ki Baat', wherein we got feedback from people of UP. It was later used as part of the manifesto,” BJP IT Cell in-charge Amit Malviya said.

Taking about numbers, Malviya added, over three crore people were digitally connected through various social media platforms in Uttar Pradesh. “BJP’s official social media platform had a direct presence of over 20 lakh people. We touched every individual, who was on social media, in state of Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

Apart from the social media team, BJP also had a separate IT team which worked on spreading messages and seeking feedback from people. “In every district of Uttar Pradesh, we had a dedicated team of workers—eight to ten on an average—who kept their ears close to the ground. They helped in giving feedback and sending out specific messages to the electorate,” a senior leader part of the initiative said.

BJP said its rivals SP and BSP tried going to the social media, but were late entrants. “SP tried to project Akhilesh as their leader who works, but as results show, people did not buy that messaging,” Malviya added.

BJP's victory in Uttar Pradesh has infused confidence among its cadre and leaders.

"The Hindi heartland dominated the national narrative. That narrative meant that those were entrenched drove national politics. Now, a leader from outside UP, goes into the fray—that too twice—and shows narrative can be rewritten,” Anirban Ganguly, director of BJP’s think-tank Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, said.

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Topics : #BJP

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