Engaging online content and interactive campaigns: BJP's plan to woo young voters

In a meeting last week, the BJP has decided to deploy its youth wing to reach out to young voters as the number of 55 lakh is set to rise after fresh electoral rolls are published on January 22

Saibal Gupta, TT, Calcutta, 10.01.24 : Election Commission records state that around 55 lakh voters in the age group of 18 to 30 had registered themselves between 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Bengal and to target these young voters the BJP is planning a massive outreach programme starting this month.

In a meeting last week, the BJP has decided to deploy its youth wing to reach out to young voters as the number of 55 lakh is set to rise after fresh electoral rolls are published on January 22. As a first step, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha is set to organise at least 1,000 district-level across the state in January.

The BJP’s special thrust on youths came after the Election Commission data showed that 55.02 lakh young voters in the state between the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which is the second-highest to Bihar’s figure of 61.3 lakh.

Interestingly, in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the state recorded the highest number of debutant voters. That year 20.1 lakh young voters had registered followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with 16.7 lakh and 13.6 lakh, respectively.

“In the last few elections, there has been a substantial increase of youth in the state. The BJP has always promoted youths and we will take this message to the remote parts of the country. The present government in the state has been hardly doing anything for the development of the youth section of the country. Unemployment in the state has reached its peak. We want to highlight the development model of the party,” a senior party leader said on the condition of anonymity.

The EC data indicates that the state boasts of an impressive 17 per cent of voters aged 18 to 30 years, translating to over 1.2 crore individuals within this age bracket out of the total 7.33 crore registered voters. “Though there was a slight decline in the number of young in the 2021 Assembly polls, we hope when electoral rolls are published this time, the state will have the largest number of first-time voters in the country,” an election commission official said.

Though the party hierarchy was not ready to divulge details of the youth wing’s programme, sources in the BJP said: “We will organise meetings, utilise social media platforms, blogs, podcasts, and other online channels to connect with the tech-savvy youth. We will also create engaging content and interactive campaigns which will play a vital role in reaching a wider audience.”

The party is also keen to organise cultural events, music festivals, and sports activities that resonate with the youth.

“Ahead of ‘National Voters Day’ on January 24, the Bengal BJP state unit has been asked to arrange for meetings across the state where they are tasked with ensuring the presence of a minimum of 1000 first-time and youth voters at each of these gatherings. These kinds of gatherings will be organised across that nation and we have a target of connecting with at least 50 lakh first-time voters,” a senior party leader said.

The BJP is also planning to woo women and they have decided to conduct “Mahila Sammelan (women meet)” to target those in the age group of 18 to 35 years. This is important because in the last few elections, the Trinamul got massive support of women voters.

“The Trinamul’s performance in the 2021 Assembly polls was much due to women voting in favour of Mamata Banerjee’s party. The success prompted Mamata to launch several pro-women schemes. If we hope to do well, there is no other way than to get the support of youths and women voters. The party has realised it and both the youth and women wings have been activated. The poll outcome will tell if the strategy worked.” said a senior BJP leader and added like the Left the party might field more youths and women in the ensuing polls in Bengal.