In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he managed 1,114 WhatsApp groups. The number has jumped to 2,068 this time, for the 2024 elections. He is among those who are considered to be the backbone of the BJP’s social media campaign in West Bengal.
Speaking to The Indian Express, the convener of the BJP’s IT cell in Cooch Behar explained how his team reaches out to people through social media, makes party messages go viral, combats other political parties’ messaging, influences “neutral” people and even sneaks up on opponents.
The IT warriors now create messages and reels on social media.
“After 2,068, now I seem not to be able to create more WhatsApp groups. I am the admin in around 1,200 groups and a member of around 800 such groups. However, it is not possible for me to personally run so many groups. We have a team here that helps me,” he said.
Das lives in Gopalpur village with his wife, a panchayat member elected last year, and his school-going daughter.
“Some groups are the BJP’s political groups. However, most are non-political. For instance, we have groups named ‘Borovitar Boro Boro Kotha (Big talks of Borovita), Samparka Setu (communication bridge), which are examples of non-political groups,” Das said.
“It all starts with ‘namashkar’ or ‘good morning’. Then we share some social issues with the person. If we get the right feedback, we add that person to a non-political group. We also slowly increase our messages and infuse political ones. If we get the right reactions or reciprocation, finally one is told about the national interest, why the BJP is important and about Narendra Modiji as the prime minister. He may be or may not be added to our political group,” he added.
Later such people are also invited to rallies, meetings and seminars organised by the BJP.
“We classify people as our own, opponents and neutral. A list is made and sent to the booth level. Those whom we consider as our own and neutral are then approached by our workers. Those who are opponents are kept under watch. The communication happens throughout the year but we share the list some months before polls,” Das said. “We also create non-political groups to maintain relations with some people. For example, we have a cooking group, jokes group, travel group etc.”
However, Das said this was just one part of his or his team’s job. The stress is now on making reels, making party messages trending or going viral on social media and countering Opposition campaigns.
The Indian Express had caught up with Das during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. He explained the change in his job since then.
“Unlike in 2019, now we make our own reels from the district. This is apart from those shared by the state unit or from the Centre. Once a message comes from the Centre or the state, we have over 100 men and women ready in this district alone to make it ‘viral or trending’ on social media. It is not easy. Just sharing won’t make it trend; one has to add to it or write something,” he said.
“Another major task we have these days is to counter Opposition narratives or allegations. For instance, when the Trinamool Congress started sharing lies about the CAA, we got local experts and teachers to share the right message. We have roped in some local intellectuals who have a good following on social media,” he added.
Das said that regular meetings are held with social media influencers and intellectuals who have a good following in the online world.
He said, “We don’t just make reels, memes or videos. We have a research group that regularly maps the messages we are circulating. They analyse which messages are mostly accepted and which messages are discarded by the receivers. For example, we found that our leaders like Dilip Ghosh and Suvendu Adhikari are among the most popular figures on social media despite the presence of other party leaders and stalwarts. So we try and release more of their videos online. We also found that videos on Ram mandir were mostly accepted. So we increased the number of videos on Ram mandir.”
Das said the IT cell has a core team of 250 members engaged in creating memes, video, reels and other social media posts. “All our core group members are political persons. We cannot use them professionally. So they make memes, videos and other things with their mobile phones. We use many applications that help us to make memes, reels etc” he said.
Though the IT team is located in a north Bengal district, its work is not over with voting in the constituency. Cooch Behar went to the polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections. Das and his team are now busy campaigning on social media for other constituencies.
“We are now circulating videos, messages, memes and reels for the elections in Tripura as well as constituencies in south Bengal,” he said. “Social media has no boundaries. Nor do the BJP’s social media workers have boundaries. Our work goes on.”