‘7-8 daily posts…’: BJP MPs told to strengthen presence on social media

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tasked its parliamentarians with making 7-8 daily posts on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, the bulk of those in the form of videos, with a view to promoting the party and its work on social media, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

A note circulated by the party, a copy of which was seen by HT, mandated that each member of Parliament should post every day or hire a team to do so for them.

The note followed a meeting chaired by party president JP Nadda on April 4 and it lists nine daily and three weekly tasks each member has to perform. Initially, the MPs were gently reminded to improve their social media presence but ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections stricter guidelines were deemed necessary, party functionaries said.

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For instance, guideline number four on daily tasks asks MPs to “ensure content on important political events is posted on each platform -- Mann Ki Baat, Union Budget, election results, etc.’’

Point number seven says, “Content from the PM or the PMO’s social media properties must be shared and retweeted daily.’’

“It’s necessary for us to do this because as MPs, we have to spread the word among our constituents,” said Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, who with 1.7 million followers on Twitter, welcomed the initiative.

“If we see news articles which prove our point of view, we should retweet them as then our ideas will get propagated,” he said, referring to point number five on the to-do list.

The party has also created a WhatsApp group that will feed content to the MPs.

“Ensure that content provided by the national social media team on the MPs’ WhatsApp group is shared the same day on the MPs’ social media properties,’’ says rule number eight, which may explain why many MPs may post similiar or even identical posts. The party has asked those MPs who are unable to do all these tasks themselves to hire a social media team.

The prime mover behind this drive is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, senior party leaders said. Speaking to workers at the party’s foundation day, he said, “It is the age of reels, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Communication and information will play a crucial role. We need to train our workers, from panchayats to Parliament.”

During the PM’s interactions with groups of MPs from time to time, it is not unsual for his office to have notes on the social media activity of each lawmaker, HT has learnt. The PM then illustrates which MP has done a good job with their posts, while gently pulling up those who haven’t fully embraced the world of social media.

The note lists among weekly tasks a meeting between the person running social media and the MP to discuss “what content will help the MP win his constituency, what content will help the BJP win that state in the next elections, etc”. The party has appointed three people to help MPs verify their accounts.

Harvinder Kumar, who is based at the party’s Parliament office, told HT that he would do all it takes to amplify content posted by MPs.

Not everyone appears equally adept at managing social media though. When 68-year-old Sumitra Balmik became a Rajya Sabha member last year, she didn’t anticipate all that may be in store to be a new-age politician from the BJP. Balmik had been a municipal councillor from Madhya Pradesh from 1999 and held various posts within the state unit, but when the party sent her a confidential note on Wednesday with a comprehensive list of things to do on social media, she says it was daunting.

“But we all have to make a beginning somewhere,” she said over phone, accepting that it was a challenge. While the ruling party is widely acknowledged for good social media skills, Balmik falls into a category of about 100 lawmakers who have a modest presence. Since she joined Twitter in 2021, she’s managed 1,488 followers and a total of 900-odd tweets. At the moment, she barely manages to post once a day but she plans to get some help for the future.

“I am getting someone who will handle it because we have to follow all the guidelines,” she said.