IT Cell 3.0 – Part 1

In a two-part series, we will explore what ought to be the contours of the "IT cell" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) going forward. (The same principles could be applied to other parties as well.) In the first part, we will look at the context, the challenges, and a bit of history. In the second part, we will explore the twenty-odd action points for the current set-up to undertake.

The Scary New World

The recent video of Kamala Harris, which was deemed a parody, made waves on social media. It was a very well-made, deep-fake video. But even sensible people like Elon Musk and Balaji Srinivasan shared the video, positing that if the mainstream media is distorting information by parroting the establishment (i.e., controlling the distribution), then it is kosher for the opposing right-wing establishment to play the distorting game through social media and artificial intelligence (AI) (i.e., controlling creation and the distribution through other means).

So, we are close to hitting the first peak of the post-truth world. (Free tip: Produce as much original content as possible in the next few months before everything drowns in synthetic data.)

Recently, in the 2024 parliamentary election, a deep-fake video of the Home Minister, Amit Shah, purported to be speaking about abolishing reservations went viral in Uttar Pradesh. Indubitably, it is one of the top reasons for the reduced numbers for the BJP in the state. It will perhaps go down in history as the first big AI intervention in Indian democracy. "Black Mirror" came true so quickly, that too in the Indian hinterlands!

Another factor in the information technology (IT) domain that poses a significant risk is the algorithmic bias of large social media platforms. They are opaque and inscrutable, jacking up viewership of videos professing certain political persuasions and shadow-banning others. The IT ministry seems to be sleeping at the wheel on this issue. Facebook recently deleted the entire profile of Richard Dawkins, a renowned evolutionary biologist, during the ongoing online crackdown in the United Kingdom (UK). (Dawkins had coined the word "meme"!)

These two instances are just simple examples of the dramatically altered state of the political arena. Given these challenges, which are only going to become sharper and more unsettling, how should any political party look at the next five years from an IT perspective? For the BJP, what does "IT Cell 3.0" entail?

A Bit Of History

The BJP started its IT cell in the mid-2000s under the presidency of Shri Rajnath Singh. The 1.0 version was helmed by Prodyut Bora, who was the first "IT cell convener." He established the basic infrastructure in the Delhi office and a few state capitals and created the party's website and the first Facebook pages for a few leaders and the party. By the quirk of fate, Bora is set to work for the Congress in Assam in the same role after almost two decades!

Arvind Gupta, who succeeded Bora, expanded the infrastructure and the presence of the BJP, coinciding with the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) 2.0 era. This was also the beginning of the age of the "Internet Hindus," who found their voices and new takers to their stories. The propaganda-peddling mainstream media, like NDTV and CNN-IBN, was put on notice.

IT Cell 2.0, from 2014 until present, has been headed by Amit Malviya. This was the time when the BJP established its formidable presence on the web. It also coincided with the social media, mobile, and Jio revolutions. The IT cell rebranded itself as the more bureaucratic-sounding "Information Technology and Social Media Department."

During the presidency of Shri Amit Shah, IT departments were expanded to state, district, and block levels. Many pyramidal structures were created through WhatsApp groups and Facebook pages, establishing effective top-down communication until the last karyakarta and voters. There was seamless coordination between the government's efforts, like MyGov and the NaMo app, which have also served as sources of feedback on governance and political matters.

This also gave birth to a whole cottage industry of "mai social media dekhta hu" activists and "social media strategists" (still wonder what they actually do!) that managed the online presence of various leaders. This is on the distribution side of things. The IT Department has also created a large content generation ecosystem, both in-house and affiliated, that produces research, explainers, memes, etc.

The BJP and its allied influencers gleefully participated in and won most of the battles on social media in the last decade by the weight of their content and massive presence. Not just the Congress, but the entire liberal ecosystem wailed and withered under the perennial onslaught.

Growth Pangs Of The IT Cell

But things started changing sometime post-pandemic in 2021-22. The heavy centralisation and top-down approach started showing their negative effects, with the tone and tenor of the messaging becoming tiresome. There was a monotony to the messaging as well. Also, there was a creeping sense of ennui with social media as a whole. 

Plus, the liberal ecosystem started levelling up as well. Ironically, the political fulcrum of the liberals, the Congress party, did not lead the way. Headed by the anodyne Jairam Ramesh, the Congress party still struggles on social media. But the leftist influencers and web portals started upping the game. They were amply aided by philanthropists and technology companies that are keen on thought-policing society. Still, the decentralised rise can be characterised as similar to the first wave of social media activism of the last decade, when the overton window shifted decisively to the right.

The BJP ecosystem's best online activist days that stirred the conscience of its supporters were in the early 2010s. A bunch of highly motivated individuals found fellowship on the social media pages during the dark days of UPA 2.0. As a movement, it was organic and had no centralising or coordinating authority, much like the Hindu religion itself.

The lack of a coordinating centre was a source of strength that gave rise to new innovative ideas and creative ways of communicating. The then-chief minister Narendra Modi's leadership provided the necessary anchor for the churning of the national mood. Pitted against the goliath of the lapdog mainstream media, it was a stirring time for the bunch of angry ragtag keyboard warriors. The "Class of 2014" went on to produce social media stars that still command a substantial following.

Forgetting lessons from its own successes of the past, the BJP's recent approach has been baffling for long-time watchers. The need to exert narrative control seems to clash with the idea of engendering a natural contest of ideas, in which the increasingly Hindu-conscious society has an edge. The projection of political confidence that should have come with the third winning mandate is missing in the online space. Senior leaders that have weathered many a political storm should counsel the party on what is good, both for the short-term and long-term.

What's Next?

This brings us to the more philosophical question of leadership in a chaotic world. How can you be the conductor of an orchestra when each artist has her own idea of good music? There can be many critical assessments, but how do you imbibe virtues in large organisations, especially in cutthroat political setups, with multiple stakeholders? 

Can the BJP somehow recapture the spirit of the yore while it is in power? Can they inspire people to activism by being a platform for new ideas to rise up, rather than trying to be the sole fountainhead of wisdom? With the advent of AI and deep fakes, what are the capabilities required? What are the new systems that have to be put in place?

In short, how would you design the next phase of the IT cell, leading up to the 2029 election? What is the journey from good to great? We will explore these questions in Part 2.