The West Bengal Assembly Election is less than a month away. And the Trinamool Congress (TMC) is taking on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with what it calls one of the ‘largest decentralized’ political digital ecosystems of the country.
The state’s ruling party has integrated as many as 80,000 of its booth workers with 1,60,000 digital volunteers that have been generating over 50 crore views/ impressions daily across platforms within the vast digital ecosystem, making it one of the most active political communication networks in India, especially among regional parties, according to Trinamool Congress leaders who spoke with Mint.
Overall, the party produces over 10,000 reels and short videos daily, focusing on speeches by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, testimonials of people impacted by the Special Intensive Revision exercise, government welfare initiatives, and counter-narratives against the Bharatiya Janata Party
West Bengal votes on two phases – 23 and 29 April. Results will be announced on 4 May.
The West Bengal election is being seen as a fight between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The TMC, led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjeehas been in power in West Bengal since 2011, for three consecutive terms.
Here are the 5 key aspects of TMC’s digital strategy for West Bengal Polls
1-The Vast Volunteer Network: At the core of this structure is the Ami Banglar Digital Joddha (ABDJ) network – a volunteer-driven digital mobilization force with more than 1,60,000 active members operating across 23 districts of West Bengal.
These volunteers help amplify campaign narratives, respond to political developments in real-time, counter opposition narratives, and distribute political content across social media platforms, TMC leaders told Mint.
2- 1.5 Lakh WhatsApp Groups: The digital volunteer skeleton is supported by a WhatsApp distribution system comprising over 1.5 lakh groups with over 1 crore unique members across West Bengal.
These groups are spread across all 35 organizational districts, ensuring deep penetration. This network enables rapid dissemination of campaign messages and real-time mobilization of supporters whenever required.
3- Mobile Application: The Mamata Banerjee-led party has also built a direct engagement channel 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, with around 1.3 lakh users active daily.
Through a variety of assigned tasks, real-time updates, interactive games, quizzes, and other engaging formats, the platform keeps its audience consistently engaged.
Today, the Didir Doot App clocks in an average of 7.3 lakh unique monthly active users, making it a key pillar in sustaining continuous, two-way engagement with supporters at scale, the TMC leader said.
4- Influencers: The TMC digital playbook 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’.
TMC’s strategy is different from the BJP. They always propagate one centralized message ~ whereas TMC’s digital strategy works both ways top down and bottom up.
5- Digital Spokespersons: Then there is also a network of 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.
The TMC’s overall social media messaging is driven by a set of carefully crafted hyperlocal narratives. Basically, the idea is to draw a contrast between “Love for Bengali Asmita’ or ‘Bengali Pride’ vs ‘outsider BJP conquest’ of Bengal.
Through the content generated, the TMC social media ecosystem amplifies what it calls repeated attempts by the BJP to portray Bengal in a negative light, such as the saffron party’s “ghuspathiya (infiltrators)” narrative in speeches of its political leaders.
“TMC’s strategy is different from the BJP. They always propagate one centralized message, whereas TMC’s digital strategy works both ways top down and bottom up. So, the messaging is more hyper local, and the response intervention on ground is rapid,” said a TMC leader.
