BJP uses humour to connect with voters on social media

Also deploys sarcasm and humour to highlight Chavan’s misrule in Maharashtra

To connect with voters in Maharashtra ahead of the Assembly polls, the BJP has deployed sarcasm and humour to comment on the “misrule” of the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government.

Through a series of cartoons, the BJP has initiated a social media campaign that will aim to reach out to all kinds of voters across the State.

Among the highlights of the programme are two popular cartoon series, Bhau Cha Dhakka (Brother’s Push) and Aghadi Cha Ghotala (The Alliance’s Scams), which make scathing remarks about the Congress-NCP rule.

Taking a leaf out of R.K. Lakshman’s common man, Bhau Cha Dhakka is themed around Rambhau, a middle-class man, and his family’s observations on the issues faced by people in the State.

Through conversations between Rambhau and his wife Chandrika and son Bandya, the cartoons play up civics issues directly affecting the common man and the political situation in the State. To ensure that voters in each region relate to the cartoons, the series are designed in a region-specific manner.

While the Bhau Cha Dhakka mainly focuses on the urban issues in western Maharashtra, Aghadi Cha Ghotala aims to engage people in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions that are in news for farmer suicides, water scarcity and irrigation scam.

Subjects tackled by cartoons, which are disseminated via Twitter and Facebook, range from taking potshots at the NCP and the Congress’s top leadership to mocking the policies and decisions of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

In the coming week, the BJP will intensify its campaign and launch more “outreach” programmes to increase its social media footprint, Jiten Gajaria, the BJP Maharashtra social media cell president told The Hindu. One of the programmes is the ‘Pulsometer,’ which will measure the incumbency level of the Maharashtra government. The target is to achieve “one click, one vote,” Mr. Gajaria said.

At a meeting on Saturday, the party’s media cell instructed workers to connect with at least 200 voters, including 100 first-timers. “The volunteers were told to spend more time on social media,” said Mr. Gajaria.

Following the social media campaign launched during Lok Sabha elections, the party will set up social media war rooms in every constituency. That will involve augmenting the “delivery” and crowdsourcing the party’s manifesto through WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. The party has adopted a two-pronged approach: it will highlight achievements of the Narendra Modi government while simultaneously attacking the State government’s policies.