Shiv Sena looks to better its virtual presence, with young cadre in tow

Dragged into controversies on social media over the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and Palghar mob lynching, the Shiv Sena has planned an aggressive counter – cadre and members of the youth wing, Yuva Sena, as social media coordinators who will “organically” fight Opposition’s “bots”.

The party has already appointed 36 such coordinators for Mumbai and will appoint at least one person as the social media coordinator in each of the 288 Assembly constituencies by mid-November, a functionary involved in the appointments said.

Party functionaries point out that the idea to give a structure to the social media department was the brainchild of Sena leader and Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray.

“Initially it (social media) was an informal structure, but Aaditya ji thought that it should be formalised. Instead of relying on fake profiles and bots, the Shiv Sena, which has such a huge cadre base, will go with its cadre. It gives a boost to our party. We are appointing social media coordinators for the Shiv Sena for each Vidhan Sabha seat. For Mumbai, we have already appointed social media coordinators for all 36 Assembly seats. We have also appointed 22 state-wide social media coordinators,” said Varun Sardesai, secretary, Yuva Sena, who is managing the planning of the social media.

Recently, the image of the Shiv Sena and its leadership took a beating on social media, following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput and the spat with actor Kangana Ranaut. However, Sardesai denied that the move to boost their social media presence was triggered by the recent incidents. He argued the accounts used on social media were fake or alien.

Sardesai said chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has got a positive response since the pandemic hit Maharashtra. “The Mumbai Police found 80,000 fake accounts on Twitter. Most of the accounts came up after June 2020 or they are from outside Maharashtra. During CM sir’s Facebook Live, there was not a single comment on Sushant or Kangana issue. Not a single comment was seeking ‘justice for Sushant’ or other issues because actual people were not commenting on those issues,” he said.

A functionary involved in the social media planning added that these platforms play a crucial role in understanding the mood of the people, and have a direct impact on elections.

“The change in the political dynamic happened late last year. Three months into a full-fledged government, the Covid-19 pandemic started. So the government did not get time to function and we did not get to show our work. If we have to beat the fake narratives of the Opposition, we need a plan,” he said, requesting anonymity.

The Yuva Sena secretary added that as part of the strategy, the social media coordinators will push the work done by the Sena-led state government. “Social media has started to play a big role in deciding people’s sentiments and now that we have a positive sentiment about the government, we want to spread the work the government is doing. More than to target any particular party or the Opposition, the main focus will be to spread the work the government does,” Sardesai added.

A structured social media body for the Shiv Sena will also play a crucial role in the next Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, which will be held in February 2022. “Over seven months have gone due to the pandemic. It will take another four to six months for people to get into their routine, even if the [Covid-19] cases drop. So we will be left with eight to nine months before the BMC elections. When everybody is at home, they can get all information on the Shiv Sena’s work at their fingertips,” a functionary said.

Sardesai added, “Social media will be extremely important [for BMC election]. But it is not just for BMC polls. We want to ensure the good work done by the government reaches every corner of the state.”

Aaditya held a meeting with Mumbai’s social media coordinators at Sahyadri guesthouse in Malabar Hill on Monday and asked them to focus on the government’s work. A person, who was present in the meeting, said, “The key points of what Aaditya ji told the coordinators was to push government initiatives, read newspapers and online news, and most importantly, he told everybody not to abuse [on social media], even if the other person engages in it. Strict disciplinary action will be initiated against the ones who use foul language. All have been asked to respond to people with facts, no matter what.”