The revamped BJP IT cell is trying to aura farm. W or L?
Speaking to Newslaundry, Joy Das, an advertising and communications professional, said, “In terms of communication, there is a shift. All state social media handles are active and are seeing an increase in engagement.”
The use of guns and physical violence alongside the “Dimagi Naxal” label was criticised by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera, who , “They’ve graduated to openly threatening youth with violence.” CJP’s Saurav Das , “The ruling party is openly threatening to shoot the country’s youngsters dead!”
The use of violent imagery was not limited to the “Dimagi Naxal” narrative. An AI-generated posted by the BJP Assam unit showed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma “shooting” at what the video described as “anti-national activities” and “drug networks”.
AI-generated politics and attacks on Sonia Gandhi
When the 1980s AI trend took over social media, the BJP also jumped on the bandwagon. While several BJP ministers and leaders used AI to reimagine themselves in the 1980s, the party’s official handles took the trend further.
The exchange began after the shared an AI-generated image showing a man seated in the passenger seat of a Maruti Suzuki Omni, captioned, “A Gujarat street in the 80s.” It was a reference to the Omni’s depiction as the ‘kidnapper’s vehicle’ in popular memes.
BJP Gujarat responded with an AI-generated image of Sonia Gandhi in revealing clothes, holding a glass and standing alongside foreigners in what appeared to be a bar. The post was later removed. BJP units in Kerala and Telangana also shared AI-generated images targeting the Congress leader, which were also subsequently removed.
The posts drew criticism from Trinamool Congress MP and CJP founder . The latter said, “Misogyny is the last resort for men who lack wit and humour.”
Despite all the efforts to appeal to Gen-Z sensibilities, however, Joy Das said the revamped IT Cell is failing to do so. “The motive was to impress the Gen-Z, however, they are failing at it. For example, one of the BJP handles posted a comparison video showing our Gen-Z vs their Gen-Z, and it had a fall out. They don’t know what works with the younger audience.”
