UP polls: BJP invokes fear of Taliban in social media campaign

Ahead of the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP, in its social media campaign, is playing the Hindutva card by invoking the fear of the fanatical fundamentalist Taliban that came to power in Afghanistan.

Lucknow: In view of the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh next year, the increased activism of the BJP on social media platforms shows how the party is preparing to return to power in the state. Not only that, the BJP has used the fundamentalist Taliban government in Afghanistan and the human rights violations taking place in that country as a weapon to attack the opposition. But then you will wonder how the Taliban became a strong political weapon for the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. In fact, the BJP is trying to unite the Hindu voters by projecting a grim picture of Afghanistan and is also getting help from Hindutva organisations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh at the grassroots level.

On the other hand, even though the regional parties seem to be more active on social media than before, they are still focusing on their old formula of caste equations. If we talk about the Samajwadi Party (SP), then it has been doing the maths by targeting the Yadav-Muslim vote. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has the backward and the extremely backward sections of the society as its traditional vote bank. But in the meantime, BSP supremo Mayawati's growing closeness to Brahmins has cut her off from her traditional voters.

Here, many of Mayawati's rivals, otherwise politically weak in the state, have risen. Apart from Chandrasekhar's Bhim Sena in the northwest, the Nishad Party in Awadh, and Apna Dal in Purvanchal, there are many smaller parties which can spoil the equation by splitting the caste vote. This is the reason why the BJP has retained the Nishad Party and Apna Dal in Purvanchal as alliance partners. That is to say, the BJP is ready to attack the opposition on every front. On the other hand, after the occupation of Afghanistan by the Taliban August 15, the BJP has sought to capitalise on it in Uttar Pradesh.

Portraying the Taliban as fanatical fundamentalist outfit, the party is trying to strengthen the Modi-Yogi pair by demolishing the wall of Hindu caste distinction, so that the Taliban-like fanaticism and fear will never flourish in India. The message is clear and political pundits of the state are understanding it well.

The BJP's IT cells have been sharing such messages on social media platforms as well as with independent groups. The BJP has deployed 1,918 such social media teams, who are attacking the opposition from all sides. Apart from this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are being projected as Hindutva defenders and heroes. At the same time, allegations of Muslim appeasement are being leveled against the SP and the BSP.

A look at the party-run social media handles and messages shared on groups on the instant messaging platform WhatsApp reveals that at least 35 percent of posts in the last two months have been on Taliban-related issues. At the core of those posts, Modi and the Yogi are portrayed as a "brand of Hindutva" that can be the only alternative in the fight against radical Islamic threats.

Apart from all these, the BJP also shared photos of Kabul airport on social media, showing the fear on the faces of the people there. However, the SP is saying that the BJP is playing the Hindutva card to hide the prevailing unemployment in the country and the state, the lack of healthcare facilities and to divert the attention of the people from the real issues. The SP is of the view that even after doing all this, the BJP is going to achieve nothing special.

On the other hand, ahead of the assembly elections, the BJP has also formed a WhatsApp group each at 1,15,000 booths in the state, which will be important for connecting local leaders with each other as well as for route planning. The BJP had, for the first time in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, used social media and digital media effectively. The party has come a long way along this path now. Until now, only the IT cell in UP BJP handled the work of social media.

But, now for the upcoming assembly elections, the party has prepared a large social media army in the entire state apart from the IT cell. At the state level, the BJP has appointed one convener and four co-convenors in the social media team.

Whereas, in all its six organisational regions in the state, one convenor and two co-convenors have been appointed for social media. Apart from this, one convenor and two co-convenors have been appointed in the social organisational team in 98 organisational districts of the party and also in 1,918 organisational divisions of the BJP. At the same time, one convener has been appointed for social media in all the assembly constituencies of the state.

Apart from this, about 100 people are working in the IT cell and call center at the BJP office in Lucknow. The job of BJP's IT cell is to provide technical support to all social media convenors of the state. Apart from this, the call centre set up at the BJP office is coordinating with the social media team.

The BJP social media team is constantly forming groups on digital platforms including WhatsApp, Facebook, and Telegram. Their job is to create awareness among the people about achievements of their government as well as to attack the opposition in a strong manner. In other words, it can be said that the party has prepared at the micro level to fight the forthcoming assembly elections on the digital platform.