The 2024 Lok Sabha election isn’t just about constituencies; it’s a digital battleground where parties vie for attention and influence. To combat BJP’s bold digital strategies, Congress has fully engaged in this arena, determined to counter opposition propaganda and misinformation while effectively conveying its vision to voters.

Congress has mobilised a dedicated force of digital warriors, known as Nyay Yoddhas, spanning all 543 parliamentary constituencies. With “Nyay” (justice) as its rallying cry, the party’s digital campaign, orchestrated from its election war room in Central Delhi, is working full swing.

Led by Vaibhav Walia, Chairman of the Communications War Room, Congress is leveraging technology and lessons learned from past elections to amplify its message. The party has structured its campaign into five clusters representing different regions of the country, ensuring that campaign content is tailored to address local issues.

Each day, a stream of memes and manifestos flows from Subramania Bharti Marg in Delhi to hundreds of thousands of citizens affiliated with the Congress party, reaching down to the block level. Congress has established an overarching organisation to oversee the dissemination of its campaign content. “We have divided the country into five clusters — North, South, Centre, West, and East. Campaign information is centralised and then distributed to regional teams, who further disseminate it to constituencies. We’re focusing on regionalising campaign content to address local issues, leveraging technologies like AI for translation, content creation, and dissemination,” explained Walia.

One of the key strategies involves the dissemination of memes, manifestos, and campaign promises through private WhatsApp networks and popular social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram. This grassroots approach has enabled Congress to generate a buzz and make topics trend, similar to the tactics employed by BJP’s IT cell.

Gautam Nautiyal, National Coordinator of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), highlights the impact of coordinated efforts by thousands of digital volunteers, citing instances where social media posts went viral within minutes. He emphasises the significance of social media involvement in reaching a wide audience and shaping public discourse.

To recruit and organise its digital army, Congress has developed the “Nyay Yatra” mobile application, available on iOS and Google Play Store. Launched alongside Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the app serves a dual purpose of recruiting volunteers and gamifying the campaign experience. Volunteers earn points for completing electoral tasks such as door-to-door campaigns and social media posts, fostering a sense of competition and engagement. The application also enables Congress to monitor the efforts of its volunteers, for the first time ever, to effectively deliver its campaign.

“Our efforts on WhatsApp are commensurate with the opposition,” Nautiyal wryly remarked. “I have thousands of volunteers in every constituency who will send election material into their own WhatsApp networks. A few nyay yoddha’s that businessline spoke with had enrolled in 200 private WhatsApp groups for this purpose. “There is a silent support brewing,” Nautiyal remarked, “which will come to the polls in droves.”

Undeterred by regulatory hurdles, especially on platforms like WhatsApp, Congress stands resolute. With the election looming ever closer, the party is placing its bets on its digital campaign to rally supporters and clinch victory at the polls.

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