The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deployed a renewed social media strategy utilizing pop-culture references, artificial intelligence-generated cartoon strips, and Gen-Z slang to connect with younger voters across India, according to recent party communications. The digital campaign features state-level Instagram and X accounts depicted as soldiers alongside a primary party handle styled as a lead warrior from the series Spartacus, utilizing an Indianised war cry with pledges to protect “Maa Bharati” against “Dimagi Naxals,” a term coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pop-Culture References and Gen-Z Slang in Political Messaging
The updated digital strategy incorporates various entertainment characters and internet terminology. According to online posts, Motu-Patlu, Spider-Man, and rapper Drake have made appearances in party content. The content uses expressions such as “Brothaa,” “Delulu,” “Kinda Chic,” and “It’s Done, Bro!” The latter phrase carries a connection to the Cockroach Janta Party protest in July, when actor Salman Khan used the expression to ask activist Sonam Wangchuk to end a hunger strike. During that same period, Prime Minister Narendra Modi began using vertical selfie-format Instagram videos to address youth as “Friends.” Additional content includes a reference to the movie American Psycho, featuring Christian Bale’s character crying in a lift alongside an on-screen caption targeting Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi over alleged policy failures.
Leadership Changes and Platform Focus
The digital shift follows a change in the BJP’s social media leadership, moving from long-term acolyte Amita Malviya to Deepak Mhaske, who previously managed party social media in Chhattisgarh and other poll-bound states. According to an interview given by Mhaske to NDTV, Instagram is the primary focus for disseminating information on government policies through reels targeted at young people. Gen Z individuals, defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, make up approximately a quarter of India’s population, while millennials born between 1981 and 1996 comprise another quarter.
Opposition Outreach and Future Political Dynamics
The Indian National Congress has similarly targeted younger demographics through Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ (‘Voice of Students’) series of events, which included a gathering in Pune exclusively for girls and women. Rahul Gandhi, 56, has characterized the BJP, its parent body RSS, and 76-year-old Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “stuck in the past,” stating that “the past can never fight the future.” Rahul Gandhi has termed the BJP, its parent body RSS, and PM Modi, 76, as “stuck in the past”, quipping that “the past can never fight the future.”
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