BJP leaders turn to Instagram after CJP agitation
Instagram has emerged as a key political messaging platform, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading a coordinated push joined by several of his ministerial colleagues as well as party leaders
In a rare departure from its culture until a week ago, India's ruling BJP has stepped up its digital outreach to young people following the recent NEET-UG paper leak controversy and the CJP agitation that led to the ouster of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister.
Instagram has emerged as a key political messaging platform, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading a coordinated push joined by several of his ministerial colleagues as well as party leaders.
The scaled-up digital offensive comes days after Modi urged his cabinet colleagues to engage more actively with young people through Instagram reels.
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The party's emphasis on the platform comes after the student-led protests over the NEET-UG paper leak and underscores the growing influence of social media, particularly Instagram, in shaping the political narrative among young people.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which led the student protests, was born as an online satirical movement in May this year, drawing more than 26 million followers on Instagram so far.
Modi himself posted a series of selfie-style videos on Instagram in recent days, thanking young people for their response and suggestions on issues such as examination reforms.
Modi, who has been using Instagram since he became prime minister in 2014, gained nearly one million followers after uploading a midnight selfie video during the protests, taking his total following to about 105 million.
The BJP's official Instagram account, with 9.5 million followers, is among the country's most-followed political party social media accounts.
Of late, the party has been posting a series of reels centred on examination paper leaks, particularly highlighting alleged cases in Punjab.
The party's recent posts also feature clips from Parliament on the introduction of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, accusing the opposition of disrupting discussions on the legislation while maintaining that it is aimed at curbing paper leaks and protecting students' interests.
Pralhad Joshi, who replaced Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister, has also used Instagram to highlight the government's response to the NEET paper leak controversy.
Former BJP president and Union Minister J P Nadda has shared videos highlighting meetings with the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) spokespeople.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya has also been among the party's most active voices on Instagram during the anti-paper leak protests.
