There is ‘Tarle Tommy’ (roughly, impish Tommy), who claims to be constantly dodging both gundi (potholes) and gunda (hooligan) in the Congress’ Karnataka.
Then there is ‘Yeddyurappa for Dummies’, on the lines of the popular explainer series, “educating” the Prime Minister “who is busy on foreign tours”.
That social media becomes important during election season, is obvious. But what is becoming increasingly clear is that both the Congress and the BJP are employing humour to garner eyeballs in the age of fleeting attention span.
From stand-up comedy sketches, revisionist retelling of R.K. Laxman cartoons, to Game of Thrones references, and pop-culture memes — the social media teams are trying to lead the narrative through snarky barbs and wry wit.
On Thursday evening, for example, BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa posted an enigmatic message on his social media accounts of a “breaking news” announcement at 5 p.m. on Friday. While the eager media queued up, big news turned out to be the release of a video anchored by Mr. Yeddyurappa.
Congress reaction was swift. If the BJP chief ministerial candidate could not meet expectations on this, how he will meet the expectations of the people? There were also cartoons showing a desperate Mr. Yeddyurappa trying to light a “breaking news” bomb.
In response, the BJP changed tact, putting out Laxman cartoons where the politician (Chief Minister Siddaramaiah) talks about the “personal welfare department” — a barb at the recent allegations of the Public Welfare Department contractors having influence in the Congress.
Humour, it seems, is perhaps the most effective way of reaching out to the estimated two crore people of Karnataka on Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and other social media.
The BJP has launched the ‘Tarle Tommy’ webseries, with three episodes so far. The most recent one focusses on “Gunda politics”, which not only pokes fun at the incidents of violence, allegedly involving local Congress leaders, but also takes potshots at actor Prakash Raj whose views have been perceived as “anti-BJP”.
The video shared by the BJP has got more than 54,000 views on Facebook alone, far more than straight-forward videos of their rallies.
“Using humour is one of way of communicating and we have seen success,” said Balaji Srinivas, head of the BJP’s social media team.
He said the team was now focussing more on video-driven messages that can be shared easily on platforms, including the imminent release of a short film, ‘Cab Guru’, on governance in the State.
Congress’ primer
The wit that brought the previously dour Congress social team into the spotlight before the Gujarat elections has seemingly grown in its posturing for the Karnataka elections. Interspersed with posts on government’s achievements, are those of sarcasm.
A five-part series on ‘Yeddyurappa for Dummies’, which takes on the former Chief Minister on corruption, anti-farmer policies, political and financial instability, and misgovernance; and a post of Mr. Yeddyurappa bowing to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath — “who can’t win his own seats” — have gained significant traction. Mr. Siddaramaiah’s Twitter popularity peaks each time he quips in response to one of the BJP leaders.
“All we did was to align his social media profile with his personality that is ripe with sharp attacks, wit and sarcasm. This has been received well by those online,” said Srivatsa Y.B., who heads the Congress social media profile. When asked about the Congress strategy for humour, he said, “We don’t have the pressure to make funny videos, because we have Mr. Yeddyurappa who provides us with enough laughs during his regime.”
The BJP’s accounts are more aggressive, often touching personal tones. On Twitter, where metrics themselves narrate a tale, the BJP often (30% of their replies) rebuts to a Congress tweet; while, replying to the BJP forms just 0.6% of the Congress’ handle. Similarly, if one in three tweets by the BJP tags Congress leaders, BJP leaders are mentioned in just 16.5% of the Congress’ tweets.
“We have a set system where we can respond quickly whatever they do. We can counter their points with facts immediately,” said Mr. Srinivas, whose team has members constantly scouring the news or keeping an eye on the Congress’ social media behaviour.
The Congress team, however, is thrilled with the reactive behaviour of their opponents. “We set the narrative and they respond,” said Mr. Srivatsa.
Though the Grand Old Party has shaken its inertia, it has a long way to go to match the BJP Karnataka’s social media presence: BJP Karnataka has nearly five times the follower count of the INC Karnataka handle on Twitter, and nearly double on Facebook.
