Who has an insight into the social media campaigns of the BJP

Fatigue already seems to be setting in.Previous BJP campaigns like ‘Majboot Neta, Nirnayak Sarkar’ and ‘Chai pe Charcha’ which were superhits though its India Shining campaign in early 2004, have clearly not worked for the BJP this time. Spinoffs and SpoofsWhile there are a host of witty and entertaining videos in circulation, one that has been a super hit among the people is the one wherein Narendra Modi, sporting tattooed muscled arms, walks into the WWE ring and ‘takes on’ SP leader Akhilesh Yadav who finally ‘wins’ the battle.A senior executive, who has an insight into the social media campaigns of the BJP, says that one agency had come out with the tagline ‘Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai’ after which Narendra Modi himself came up with the ‘Main bhi Chowkidar’ campaign, which like the chaiwala campaign of 2014, connects well with the masses.

“This campaign which began with the PM attaching Chowkidar to all his social media handles has backfired on the BJP as it has united all those against the party into a single bracket.There are also several videos in circulation featuring West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Narendra Modi but experts say that those videos do not garner as many likes as the ones of Narendra Modi and Rahul Gandhi. It rips apart Rahul’s ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ campaign.In the last UP elections, poll strategist Prashant Kishor had coined the line ‘UP ke Ladke’ for Rahul Gandhi and SP leader Akhilesh Yadav, who subsequently lost the elections despite a strong social media and ad campaign.Experts say that music connects better than other videos of extreme violence, unrealistic and extraordinary videos or those involving celebrities. Of the four films that have been released so far as part of the chowkidar campaign, one is a three minute film while the others are less than a minute. Meanwhile, the Congress is sticking to rap videos like Raga ka Mausam Awesome and Apna Time Aayega and Chowkidar Chor Hai. The video has racked up 7.”

He adds that the ‘Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar’ campaign of 2014 resonated much better than ‘Main bhi Chowkidar’ as it had a much larger impact on the country and its population as a whole.Then there are videos mocking Rahul Gandhi as ‘Pappu’ while there are quite a few videos wherein Narendra Modi is seen making one announcement after the other and not fulfilling them, forcing the video to project him as a ‘pheku’. “Videos like these are hugely popular in North India, particularly in UP and Bihar. The video is aimed at projecting Akhilesh Yadav as a more macho leader than Modi,” says one analyst. The videos have been shot across India.But Chandramouli has a different take on this.In 2014, BJP made the most of the ‘chaiwala’ comment by Congress leader Mani Shanker Aiyar.The aim behind the chowkidar campaign is that each citizen has to contribute towards development of the nation.

Even within the BJP, there are leaders who have stubbornly refused to sport the tag to their handles, leaving much to speculate about their future in the party.7 million views in the last couple of months. The screw plugsMainBhiChowkidar campaign was started in all probability to negate the rhetoric of #ChowkidarChorHai, but in trying to make the latter hashtag defunct, the former campaign has turned to haunt the BJP because it has clearly divided the electorate into BJP and non-BJP sections.As for the Congress, experts say that the party is mostly relying on their social media teams who have been releasing quite a few videos in the last couple of months.5 million tweets and took away all the other narratives, making it the only narrative,” he says, adding that while the Congress campaign of # ‘Chowkidar Chor Hai’ may be the best way the Congress can counter the BJP’s moves, it does not seem to reflect the prevailing mood in the country. Even Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came out with a similar video. The highlight of the campaign is the powerful punchline — ‘Wo Akela Chal Pada’,” says a member of Team Modi, requesting anonymity.

“Modiji has this ability to involve every Indian or at least make them think about what they can contribute to the overall nation building.In August 2018, both the BJP and Congress had released videos giving their own versions of the Rafale deal.For the Madhya Pradesh elections, the Congress came up with ‘Aa Rahi Hai Congress, Parivartan Maange Madhya Pradesh’ as their musical slogan.Viral taglinesInterestingly, when compared to the Congress, the BJP’s ad campaign is much more robust, be it the rap videos targeting the Gandhi family or the chowkidar campaign. Similarly, it is likely that Congress leader Sam Pitroda’s remark on the Balakot terror strikes is likely to be turned around by the BJP for use in their social media campaigns.“Interestingly, ‘Main bhi Chowkidar’ was a worldwide trend with 1. On the other hand, it has also come as a benefit to the BJP as it now knows the members who will support such initiatives blindly and those who will not,” he explains..It seems to be a diversionary tactic to focus on the smaller issues