Congress lacks vision, leadership: BJP IT chief on party's social media outreach

The Congress has also begun creating waves on social media following in BJP's footsteps

BJP is no longer the only political party with a huge social media presence, outreach and impact. From Congress to parties like Rashtriya Janata Dal‏, Bahujan Samaj Party, Samajwadi Party etc social media is being used as the most effective political tool to set the narrative.

The BJP, however, sees it as no competition. Speaking to OneIndia, Amit Malviya, the chief of BJP's national Information and Technology cell called it a 'compliment'. He added that BJP had what other parties, especially the Congress didn't have- vision and leadership.

"We do not look at our social media outreach in the context of any other political party. Each party can decide how it wants to reach its constituent. From our point of view, we have our policies, our programs, our ideological issues and we look at digital mediums as a means to get them across to people. It is independent of what other people are doing," said Amit Malviya.

The BJP's IT in-charge, in fact, took pride in the fact that other parties had realised what BJP had done with its social media outreach and were attempting to emulate the same. "Congress, the new kid on the block and some other parties are now realising what we have been doing and are trying to emulate it. I look at it as a big compliment to the BJP," he said.

What makes BJP more confident

BJP is deemed the most tech-savvy political party in India. The first to utilize social media to its advantage, the BJP also introduced 3D hologram as part of its audio visual campaign for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, the party does not believe that technology is its strength.

"It is not about technology but about vision and leadership. The Congress clearly lacks both of it today" said Malviya asserting that the Congress' social media presence made little difference to the BJP. The Congress party had claimed that its social media outreach's priority was to bust 'fake news, highlight misrepresented facts and nail the BJP's lies promoted through its social media platforms'. The BJP, however, has rubbished all of Congress' claims.

"If the Congress is alleging that the BJP is spreading falsehood using social media then they are suspecting the intelligence of 1.34 crore people who are on our Facebook page. The party is questioning the intelligence of almost 60 lakh people who follow us on Twitter and millions of people who voice their opinion in support of the BJP. These are the people who often are seen as leading the charge as far as the narrative is concerned," said Malviya adding that unless the Congress realised what they were up against they won't be able to address it.

On Rahul Gandhi's new online avatar

Most people who follow AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi's tweets have noticed the change in style and pattern over the last few weeks. Rahul Gandhi's tweets that have largely been formal subtle have now become quirky, witty and at times sarcastic. While most agree that Rahul Gandhi's tweets have become more impactful and vibrant, the BJP is unimpressed and it is no surprise.

"I wish his (Rahul Gandhi) Twitter account reflected his true personality. Every time he speaks it is very unlike what he sounds on Twitter. That is really the problem because if you are not what you are in real life on social media then obviously you are not going to be taken seriously," Malviya said.

OneIndia News