Ideology vs War Room: BSP’s Secret Recipe For Social Media Success

A close acquaintance recently forwarded a WhatsApp message about the atrocities faced by the Dalit community in Uttar Pradesh. The message concluded with an appeal to vote for the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).My acquaintance, an M Tech student studying in a private engineering college in Greater Noida, told me that he supported the BSP, despite having no direct affiliation with the Mayawati-led party. Under BSP’s tenure, our complaints were registered and our voices were heard. This was not the case during the Akhilesh Yadav government. We hope that the BSP forms the government in UP. I try to promote as much content as I can through Facebook and WhatsApp.My acquaintance is among the many, self-proclaimed social media crusaders who have sworn allegiance to the BSP. Some of them are students of colleges like JNU, BHU or AMU, while others are employed in private sector companies. They have no contact with BSP workers or Mayawati, but they hope to awaken Dalit consciousness by using social media to spread awareness.BJP and SP’s Social Media CampaignThe Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections 2017 saw the BJP, the SP and the Congress pulling out all the stops to ensure a power-packed social media campaign.The BJP has turned their Lucknow headquarters into a social media war room. Besides employing social media executives and equipping them with the latest technology, the BJP has also roped in professionals from engineering, management and journalism backgrounds, in order to ensure a powerful social media campaign. Similarly, the Akhilesh-led Samajwadi Party enjoys popular support on Facebook and Twitter, a result of the professionals who have been working around the clock to campaign for the party on various digital platforms.How Different is the BSP's War Room?On the other hand, the BSP has no social media war room or executives to call its own. But photos, posts, videos and other content related to the party continue to make the rounds on social media. Posts with the ‘Behenji ko aane do'’ banner have been aggressively promoted on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to name a few channels, without the party having to pay professionals to do so.Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Delhi professor, Anand Pradhan says: BSP’s social media campaign is not like that of the others. It has taken the form of activism. The OBC middle class is actively taking the campaign forward for the BSP. More than the party, these volunteers are pro-Mayawati.News outlets like National Dastak and Dalit Dastak are usually at the forefront of reporting on Dalit atrocities, a beat that mainstream media portals are severely criticised for ignoring.National Dastak editor Bhavendra Prakash says the BSP’s social media strategy, or lack there of, works because those volunteering for the Mayawati-led party on social media are not aligned to any political party. He says:The media has always termed the BSP government as being spineless. But, these social media executives are spreading awareness about Mayawati’s good deeds. Under Mayawati’s tenure, the law and order situation was much better. So this is what the social media workers are trying to show the people of the state. Mayawati has, on multiple occasions, accused the mainstream media of turning a blind eye to the BSP’s work in the state. So it is natural for Mayawati to turn to social media.According to a young party leader, the BSP’s social media campaign also sees active participation from people outside India. He reveals that a young supporter came up with the 'Behenji ko aane do' slogan, which became popular because it resonated with supporters of the party.No Workers, Just VolunteersThe origin story of the slogan is telling of the BSP’s social media strategy: young party supporters create social media-friendly content for the BSP. If it works on social media, then it is shared far and wide.On the other hand, parties like the BJP and SP employ workers to create social media content in their war rooms. Once the content is approved, it is then shared on various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp.What Is the BSP’s Special Weapon?The time period after the Una attack, and the incidents leading up to Rohith Vemula’s attack, saw a flurry of support for the Dalit community on social media. More and more people were stepping up to report and share stories related to atrocities against Dalits, with central government ministers also referring to viral social media stories while addressing issues. It was around this period that the BSP took to their official social media accounts to share news about atrocities faced by the Dalit community in the country.The UP elections has proved that the common man wants to get involved in the campaign. The class of voters that is often dismissed as being from a backward community has understood the power of social media. Although the elections results are still a few days away (11 March), these social media executives are doing everything in their power to make the BSP register a win.

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Ideology vs War Room: BSP’s Secret Recipe For Social Media Success

Mayawati has realised that social media is the best way for her to bypass the mainstream media that ignores her.

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Topics: Social Media Twitter Mayawati