Over the previous 10 months, with the West Bengal meeting elections simply across the nook, the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has been leaning extra in the direction of what it calls a “decentralized digital ecosystem” to counter the Bharatiya Janata Get together’s “centralized digital messaging”, whereas increasing its welfare-focused outreach efforts each on the bottom and on on-line platforms.
On the coronary heart of the TMC’s messaging technique is a pointy body of “love for Bengal versus conquering Bangla”, which the celebration claims will inform a curated set of hyper-local narratives, together with campaigns corresponding to “What in the event that they get (energy)?” and “Bangla Birodi” (anti-Bangla). These are distributed by a multi-layered digital infrastructure anchored within the huge WhatsApp distribution community. Get together leaders say the community is made up of greater than 150,000 teams and greater than 1 billion members within the state, permitting for fast and focused distribution of marketing campaign supplies.
The celebration additionally claims it continues to interact immediately with executives and supporters by its cell utility Didir doot (Didir’s Messenger), which was launched in October 2020. The variety of downloads of this app has exceeded 1.8 million, and it’s mentioned that there are roughly 130,000 day by day energetic customers and roughly 730,000 month-to-month energetic customers. It serves as each a mobilization and engagement platform, providing assigned duties, real-time updates, interactive quizzes, and gamified options geared toward holding customers constantly engaged with marketing campaign actions.
“Our technique is straightforward. We’re telling the reality, however they (the BJP) are spreading lies. Our celebration employees are working within the area and out, from the streets to the web,” mentioned TMC’s IT cell head Devanshu Bhattacharya. He alleged that a good portion of the BJP’s digital operations concentrating on Bengal are run by people based mostly exterior the state, including that they’re “working like bots”.
Bhattacharya, who’s contesting from Chunchula Meeting constituency in Hooghly district, is often known as the creator of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s broadly fashionable ‘Khela Hobe (The struggle is on)’ marketing campaign music for the 2021 meeting elections. He mentioned the TMC’s present digital drive relies on classes realized from earlier election cycles, particularly the final meeting polls.
TMC officers mentioned the celebration’s social media ecosystem has at the moment produced greater than 10,000 reels and quick movies that includes speeches by Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, testimonies from beneficiaries of the state welfare scheme and content material designed to counter opposition claims. This content material will likely be disseminated throughout the platform by a mixture of official channels, volunteer networks, and unbiased influencers aligned with the Get together.
TMC insiders emphasised the emotional facets of the marketing campaign throughout organizational dimensions. They pointed to repeated makes an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Get together to painting Bengal negatively, together with using phrases corresponding to “guspatiyas” (infiltrators) in political speeches. They are saying the TMC is making an attempt to reply by foregrounding problems with dignity, id and “Bengali asmita” (Bengali satisfaction), and by positioning elections as greater than only a contest for political energy.
“It is the distinction between love and a want for conquest,” Bhattacharya mentioned, arguing that voters might distinguish between what he referred to as “love for Bengal” and what he referred to as “ego-driven makes an attempt” to increase political management.
volunteers and influencers
On the organizational degree, the celebration’s digital mobilization is supported by Ami Bangla Digital Joddha (ABDJ), a volunteer-led community with over 160,000 energetic members throughout the district. These volunteers play a central position in amplifying the marketing campaign narrative, responding to political developments in real-time, and distributing content material broadly throughout social media platforms.
Moreover, this ecosystem features a community of over 5,000 social media influencers who create and share political content material past formal celebration organizations, and a “remark military” tasked with engagement and amplification. Greater than 50 digital spokespeople additionally create issue-based movies and commentaries to shortly reply to new political developments.
In response to celebration estimates, this built-in digital community will generate greater than 50 billion impressions daily throughout what is known as the ‘Bengal Digital Ecosystem’. Leaders declare that this continued on-line presence contributed considerably to the celebration’s marketing campaign momentum within the run-up to the elections.
“We’re within the lead and can tackle the Bharatiya Janata Get together like we did in 2021 and 2024. The massive motive is that the folks of Bengal can relate to the details we’re presenting,” Bhattacharya mentioned. He added that the celebration ceaselessly factors to the governance practices of BJP-ruled international locations and counters criticism with such comparisons as proof of contradictions within the opposition’s message.
Welfare message
A key ingredient of TMC’s argument is its give attention to profit plans, significantly those who contain direct profit transfers. Amongst them, the Laxmier Bandar system, which gives monetary help to ladies, is attracting consideration as a serious initiative. The celebration additionally factors to the following improve within the quantity disbursed underneath the scheme as proof of its dedication to social welfare.
“In the event that they criticize the Bengal plan however promise related plans elsewhere, we spotlight the contradiction,” Bhattacharyya mentioned. He argued that such comparisons are used to strengthen the celebration’s argument that its insurance policies are being copied by political opponents.
General, the TMC’s marketing campaign technique seems to mix scale, pace, and emotional resonance, with an emphasis on digital engagement alongside conventional ground-level mobilization. The celebration continues to spotlight its governance report and welfare initiatives, whereas searching for to border its marketing campaign in broader cultural and identity-driven phrases. It presents itself as an “unique” in distinction to the BJP’s makes an attempt to “replicate” its mannequin.
