The revamped BJP IT cell is trying to aura farm. W or L?

“They showed the world a way,” said Neha Bora in a viral clip, about Bangladeshi student protesters. The All Indian Students Association (AISA) president was giving a “red salute” to the protesters from the neighbouring country. Around this time, protests demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged irregularities in the handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were picking up momentum in Delhi. 

Neha’s words were picked up by news channels and social media, and the student leader was accused of calling for a “regime change.” 

The media attacks intensified once the governing Bharatiya Janata Party’s social media teams amplified the quote in an attempt to disregard the protests. 

Between October 14 and October 20, the saffron party’s main X handle, @BJP4India, published at least 12 posts regarding the alleged call for “regime change” emerging out of the protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party, AISA, other left groups, and the Opposition. 

The protesters were calling for anarchy and bloodshed, BJP’s IT Cell told its audience. 

The posts were curated by a revamped IT Cell which, following the July protests over NEET paper leak that led to the resignation of then Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, was found to be in dire need of a more ‘Gen-Z approach’. 

On August 17, Amit Malviya was replaced by Deepak Mhaske as IT Cell head. When he took charge, Mhaske pledged to use “positive content” to counter the “fake narratives” spread by the Opposition using “AI in reels to twist facts and mislead people”.

Soon, short rap videos, meme-style edits, slang-heavy posts, and AI-generated visuals became a prominent part of the BJP’s social media output. Both national and state social media handles published posts ranging from “Who is a Dimagi Naxal” and “Naraz Fufa”, to gun-heavy visual edits and AI-generated templates targeting female politicians.

Newslaundry tracked BJP’s national and state social media handles, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accounts, for a month between August 25 and September 28 to understand what has changed in the party’s digital messaging since the IT Cell revamp, how the promised Gen-Z touch is playing out, and whether the new formats signal a shift in its social media strategy.

Memes, reels, and Gen-Z lingo

Since August, fast-paced reel videos with popular Instagram reel music, memes, and internet slang have increasingly become the BJP’s preferred social media content. 

This is markedly different from its earlier approach, which relied on infographics about policy and new developments, given in pointers and straight fonts, as seen from Newslaundry’s analysis of @BJP4India’s posts from July 1 to July 31.

Stylised reels and collaborations with the state handles were largely unseen before the IT Cell revamp, even though AI videos were still prevalent.

The shift in the party's social media language began by the end of July, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself posting a midnight selfie video, and addressing the nation as “friends”. The video itself soon became viral meme content. 

Then came the cinematic reels, such as a clip featuring PM Modi highlighting women’s empowerment that was edited to the Hindi film Dev D’s song “Pardesi”.

The accompanying caption said, “Empowering India’s women, like a pro!” The use of the phrase “like a pro” marks a departure from more conventional political messaging, using language associated with social media and younger audiences.

Other clips highlighting the government’s “Viksit Bharat” vision and India’s GDP growth have been edited to popular Western raps. Their captions use terms such as “aura farming”, an internet slang used to describe someone as projecting confidence or charisma.

The new social media strategy is also visible in how PM Modi’s speeches are being repackaged. Short clips of his speeches posted by BJP handles are accompanied by background music, text overlays, and quick edits, giving them the visual format of social media reels rather than conventional speech excerpts.

The IT Cell even turned to noted right wing media organisations to tackle the initial uproar against the Election Commission of India following the Indian Express report that exposed the alleged disagreements between the Commissioners. One ‘fact check’ video was anchored by Chaman Mishra, an employee of the right-wing website The Pamphlet, associated with BJP IT Cell member Alok Bhatt.

Viral trends become political templates

Apart from adopting Gen-Z lingo, the BJP has also tapped into popular internet trends. Several state BJP handles used the “iPhone Duo” trend to take jibes at the Opposition after Apple recently launched the book-style horizontal foldable phone.

For instance, a video posted by BJP Maharashtra showed former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru lighting a cigarette. As the phone’s other side opens, the video reveals that he was lighting it for a woman.

As per a fact-check by Alt News, Nehru lit a cigarette for the wife of a British diplomat. The fact-check noted “as per several news reports and fact checks from the past, some of which revealed that the woman in the image is Mrs Simon, the wife of a British diplomat in 1960.”

Other state handles also caught onto this trend and posted their versions of it.

“There is freshness in the edits. Marketing strategies often used by brands are now visible on BJP’s social media,” said Nawed Anjum, political consultant and social media marketing expert.

From ‘Dimagi Naxal’ to ‘Naraz Fufa’: Politics in rap

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the term “Dimagi Naxal” in his Independence Day speech, the party’s social media handles followed it up with a short rap video explaining who qualifies as one.

It said the label applies to those who “glorify armed rebellion”, sympathise with terrorists, and question the security forces, among other things. It used visuals from the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led protest in New Delhi in July, including footage of the police crackdown. The video also featured AI-generated images and visuals of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, actor Prakash Raj, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, singer-composer Vishal Dadlani, journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, and CJP’s leadership.

“The short jingles on Dimaagi Naxal and Naraz Fufa have done extremely well. Although the music is AI-generated, it is catchy,” said Anjum.

Then, speaking at the centenary celebrations of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) in New Delhi, PM Modi used the term “Naraz Fufa”, a reference for those who, in his view, seem to question every new initiative.

In one rap-style video, Rahul Gandhi is portrayed as a “Naraz Fufa”, a perpetually dissatisfied relative who finds fault with everything. The video juxtaposes images of Gandhi with visuals of high-speed trains, infrastructure, and tourism, while the rap repeatedly frames him as stuck with “same old scripts”, “same old rant”, and “har kaam pe sawaal (questions everything)”.

A follow-up video contained visuals of Rahul Gandhi and other Congress spokespersons and leaders questioning the government over various achievements. The accompanying rap portrayed the Opposition as repeatedly demanding proof from the government. One line said, “Even after the scientists have called a mission successful, they still ask for evidence” while another asked, “If a strike happened, where is the proof”.  

Guns, violence, and battle cries

Fight sequences featuring popular actors wielding guns and swords, cars flying through the air, and dialogues about “winning a war” from films and shows such as KGF, Baahubali: The Beginning, Pushpa, RRR, and Mirzapur also feature in the BJP’s social media content.

Some of these clips were repurposed around the “Dimagi Naxal” narrative. One video posted by BJP Karnataka, for instance, was captioned, “United to crush the Dimagi Naxal ecosystem!”

The new social media outreach has seen greater interaction between the BJP’s national and state handles. On August 28, BJP’s main handle posted a video titled “Shall We Begin?” and tagged state pages. The video effectively called for war against the “Dimagi Naxal ecosystem”. 

Several state handles subsequently posted their own versions of the content. The interaction also continued between state handles, with accounts such as BJP Karnataka responding to posts from BJP Chhattisgarh, and BJP Goa responding to posts by BJP Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir.

Some used visuals of guns being pointed at people labelled “Dimagi Naxals”. A BJP Karnataka post carried the caption, “No slowing down — taking on Dimaagi Naxals with full force!”

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 said, “They’ve graduated to openly threatening youth with violence.” CJP’s Saurav Das said, “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 video 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 Congress’s Kerala unit 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 Sagarika Ghose and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke. 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.”

If you liked this piece, let our reporters tell you why you should subscribe to Newslaundry.