New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Ahead of Mamata Banerjee assuming power in West Bengal in 2011, a small room at the Trinamool Congress Bhavan in Kolkata used to host a group of fresh-out-of-college youth who worked on “media monitoring” with a panel of screens beaming news and a pile of the day’s newspapers at their desks.
The party leader then overseeing the group would fuss over them, share opinion over their reports before finalising the document for the eyes of the party Chairperson herself.
Later, one evening, ahead of the 2016 Assembly elections, the same media monitor-leader ushered political strategist Prashant Kishor for a meeting with Mamata Banerjee at the same party headquarters in Kolkata.
The meeting ended “cordially” but did not go anywhere beyond that; PK had his “hands full”, while Didi apparently “could not afford his fees”.
About two years before that meeting, the Trinamool scored an emphatic victory, winning 34 of the 42 Parliamentary seats in the state.
The BJP could manage only two, despite the “Modi magic”.
For the Trinamool, the euphoria hung in the air and everybody in the streets knew who was winning the coming Assembly polls. But in the subsequent Lok Sabha polls, when a Modi wave again swept the hustings, Bengal swam with it.
The Trinamool lost a dozen of its earlier seats, and the BJP cornered 18. In a few weeks, the state’s ruling party was convinced that BJP was “polarising” the state and getting stronger by the day.
Enter PK; and after a two-hour-long meeting at the new secretariat building, Nabanna, the Trinamool supremo realised that her visitor knew more than what she had anticipated: PK does his homework.
Thus stepped I-PAC in West Bengal, where, within days of the early-June 2019 meeting, changes were apparent – from launching a website, virtual access to the Chief Minister, setting up a grievance cell, to Mamata slamming her own party leaders publicly over “cut-money”.
Other changes followed, with Mamata’s heir-apparent himself standing firm behind turning the party “professional” and “modern”; while some elders called it “corporatisation”. But that did not matter much.
Much water has flown down the Hooghly River in Kolkata, and PK has since hung his gloves as political consultant to turn full-time politician. And over the past few years, as the social media turned into a strong communication tool, the Trinamool’s digital ecosystem quietly built itself into one of the largest in the country, spearheaded by the I-PAC.
At the core of this structure is the Ami Banglar Digital Joddha (ABDJ) network – a “volunteer-driven digital mobilisation force”, which a functionary claimed comprises more than 1.6 lakh active members operating across all districts.
These volunteers help amplify campaign narratives, respond to political developments in real-time, counter Opposition narratives and distribute political content across social media platforms, according to the communique.
Meanwhile, over 1.5 lakh WhatsApp groups, claimed to include more than 1 crore people across the state ensures “deep penetration”. The party has also built a direct engagement tool with its cadre and supporters through the “Didir Doot” mobile app.
Launched in October 2020, the app has clocked over 18 lakh downloads so far, it is claimed, with around 1.3 lakh users active on a daily basis.
The party digital ecosystem is further strengthened by a network of 5,000-plus social media influencers who regularly create and share political content, expanding the reach of campaign narratives beyond formal party channels
“This is aided by a well-oiled ‘Comments Army’,” claim Trinamool sources. Additionally, there is a network of over 50 “digital spokespersons”, who produce political commentary and issue-based videos using dedicated digital studios and green-screen setups that allow the party to respond quickly to political developments.
Together, claims the party, the verticals produce over 10,000 reels and short videos daily, “focussing on speeches by Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, testimonials of people impacted by SIR, government welfare initiatives, and counter-narratives against the BJP”.
According to party sources, its digital ecosystem collectively generates over 50 crore views and impressions daily across platforms within the Bengal digital ecosystem, making it one of the most active political communication networks in India especially among regional parties.
–IANS
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