BJP’s Biggest Opposition Is Not Congress. It Is Its Own Media Strategy.

I have been watching the BJP’s communication strategy for years, and one thing has become increasingly obvious to me: the BJP knows how to win elections, but it still hasn’t fully understood how to win the narrative.

Especially in opposition-ruled states.

And in politics, that distinction is everything.

Because today, satta sirf ballot box mein nahi, perception mein bhi hoti hai.

For decades, the Congress understood one fundamental truth: you don't have to control every newspaper if you can build relationships with the people who decide what becomes news.

Reporters. Editors. Columnists. Intellectuals. Academics. Cultural influencers. Film personalities. Think tanks. Student leaders.

The Congress ecosystem did not always need to shout.

It had people inside the system who could quietly shape the conversation.

Narrative factory chalti thi.

And when you cultivate an ecosystem for decades, it eventually begins to work almost automatically.

A journalist may not necessarily be a Congress worker. An editor may not necessarily be a Congress supporter. But over time, a shared ideological and social ecosystem gets created.

You build relationships.

You help people grow.

You create access.

You create opportunities.

You create a sense of belonging.

And when the political weather changes, those relationships don't disappear overnight.

Congress ne 70 saal mein media ecosystem banaya. BJP ne power mein aane ke baad us ecosystem ko samajhne ke bajaye usse dismiss kar diya.

That, in my opinion, was a strategic mistake.

BJP Mistook Media Hostility for Media Irrelevance

When the BJP came to power, a large section of the media was openly hostile towards it.

The natural reaction should have been:

“How do we change the conversation?”

Instead, the reaction often became:

“Media bik chuka hai. Humein media ki zaroorat hi nahi.”

And then came the rise of social media.

Twitter. Facebook. YouTube. WhatsApp.

Suddenly, the BJP discovered something powerful.

Why depend on a journalist when you can directly reach 10 million people?

Fair question.

But there was a problem.

Direct communication and independent media are not the same thing.

A political party can tell people what it wants them to know.

A functioning media ecosystem investigates, questions, explains, contextualises and, most importantly, reaches people who are not already loyal supporters.

Apne supporters ko convince karna communication hai. Opponents ko rethink karne par majboor karna narrative-building hai.

The BJP became extraordinarily good at the first.

It was never equally good at the second.

The BJP's Digital Success Became Its Strategic Weakness

The BJP built perhaps the most powerful political digital machine in India.

But somewhere along the way, digital communication became synonymous with:

Hashtags

Trending topics

Memes

IT cell wars

Supporter amplification

Angry rebuttals

“Expose” videos

Daily political outrage

This works brilliantly with the already converted.

But Gen Z does not consume politics like previous generations.

They do not sit down at 9 pm to watch a political spokesperson scream at another political spokesperson.

They don't necessarily read a 1,000-word press release.

They see a 30-second reel.

A meme.

A podcast clip.

A creator explaining a complex issue while sitting in a car.

A sarcastic video.

A viral comment.

Gen Z ko press conference nahi, context chahiye.

They don't necessarily want to be told:

“This is what you must think.”

They want to know: “Why should I care?”

And if the answer is boring, defensive or angry, they scroll.

Swipe. Next. Khatam.

The Biggest Mistake: Treating Every Critic as an Enemy

This is where I believe the BJP has made a fundamental mistake.

Not every journalist who criticises the government is an enemy.

Not every editor who disagrees with the government is anti-national.

Not every influencer who raises a question is part of a conspiracy.

Aur har criticism ka jawab character assassination nahi ho sakta.

Sometimes the answer to a hostile interview is not to attack the interviewer.

Sometimes the answer is to give a better interview.

Sometimes the answer is not to boycott a publication.

Sometimes the answer is to make the publication irrelevant by becoming so compelling that people want to hear your side.

You cannot build a narrative by permanently shouting:

“Everyone is against us.”

At some point, the audience begins to ask:

“Maybe the problem is not everyone else?”

The Congress Understood One Thing That the BJP Has Not Fully Replicated

The Congress understood the value of relationships.

Not just with politicians.

With the ecosystem around politics.

A reporter could become an editor.

An editor could become a columnist.

A columnist could become a television personality.

A television personality could become an institution.

And somewhere along the way, a political party that had invested in relationships for decades would benefit from that ecosystem.

This is not necessarily about bribery or direct control.

Narrative-building is often much more sophisticated than that.

It is about proximity.

Access.

Trust.

Shared spaces.

Conversations over coffee.

Invitations.

Information.

Professional opportunities.

Mentorship.

Recognition.

Jisko aap 20 saal se ignore karte ho, usse election ke 6 mahine pehle phone karke favourable coverage ki umeed nahi kar sakte.

Relationships don't work like a vending machine.

You cannot put in nothing for years and suddenly expect support when you need it.

BJP's Opposition-State Problem

The problem becomes even more visible in states where the BJP is in opposition.

The party often behaves as if winning the national narrative will automatically translate into a state narrative.

It doesn't.

Every state has its own political culture.

Its own media ecosystem.

Its own local influencers.

Its own journalists.

Its own grievances.

Its own language.

Its own humour.

Its own heroes.

Delhi se bana hua narrative Jaipur, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad ya Kathmandu mein automatically nahi bikta.

A centralised communication strategy may be efficient.

But politics is local.

A young voter in a state capital does not necessarily care about the same things as a voter in Delhi.

And a 21-year-old does not necessarily trust the same voices his parents trusted.

The BJP needs local storytellers.

Not just local politicians.

The Future Is Not BJP Versus Media

The future is: BJP versus competing narratives.

And those narratives are no longer created only by newspapers and television channels.

They are created by:

YouTubers

Podcasters

Instagram creators

Meme pages

Stand-up comedians

Regional-language influencers

Gamers

Students

Entrepreneurs

Doctors

Lawyers

Film reviewers

Historians

Economists

Ordinary people with a smartphone and an opinion

The next political influencer may not look like a political influencer.

He may be a 22-year-old making videos from his bedroom.

She may be a college student explaining economics in Malayalam.

He may be a comedian with 5 million followers.

She may be a travel creator who suddenly talks about infrastructure after seeing her city collapse in the monsoon.

The BJP cannot build a Gen Z narrative by making 50-year-old politicians dance to trending Instagram audio.

That is not youth communication.

That is corporate uncle discovering Instagram.

The Way Forward

The BJP needs to stop thinking of media strategy as an extension of the IT cell.

It needs a much broader ecosystem.

1. Build relationships before you need them

Don't only call journalists when you want favourable coverage.

Don't only invite influencers when you want them to promote a government scheme.

Build long-term professional relationships.

Give access.

Share information.

Answer difficult questions.

Treat people as professionals, not as political assets.

Relationship first. Coverage later.

2. Stop trying to control every conversation

You cannot control the internet.

Nobody can.

The objective should not be to make everyone say the same thing.

The objective should be to ensure that your version of events is present, credible and easily accessible.

Monopoly nahi, mindshare chahiye.

3. Build a credible army of independent voices

The BJP does not need 10,000 people repeating the same talking points.

That looks manufactured.

It needs 100 credible people who can explain different subjects in their own voice.

A doctor talking about healthcare.

An economist discussing growth.

A young entrepreneur discussing employment.

A farmer discussing agriculture.

A student discussing education.

A filmmaker discussing culture.

Same script nahi. Same facts.

There is a difference.

4. Learn to speak Gen Z

Gen Z does not want another lecture from a podium.

They want stories.

They want proof.

They want authenticity.

They want humour.

They want people who sound human.

A 30-second video explaining how a policy affects a young person's life may be more powerful than a two-hour press conference.

Policy ko PowerPoint se nikaal kar people ki life mein dikhana hoga.

5. Stop making every disagreement personal

A government that is confident can handle criticism.

A party that is confident can engage with criticism.

Constantly attacking critics creates a strange paradox.

You may win the argument with your supporters.

But you may lose the silent audience watching from the sidelines.

And that silent audience is where elections are often won.

Jo aapko troll nahi kar raha, woh zaroori nahi ki aapko vote bhi karega.

6. Respect regional media

National television is not India.

India is also the small newspaper in a district town.

The local YouTuber.

The regional-language podcast.

The college influencer.

The community radio station.

The journalist who knows exactly which road has been broken for five years.

Narrative Delhi mein design nahi hota. Narrative ground par grow hota hai.

The BJP Has One Massive Advantage

The BJP has something the Congress of the past did not have.

It has the internet.

It has direct access to millions of people.

It has a massive volunteer base.

It has a young population.

It has a government with stories to tell.

It has development projects.

It has infrastructure.

It has foreign policy.

It has technology.

It has welfare schemes.

It has failures too.

And that is the point.

A credible narrative does not pretend that everything is perfect.

The most powerful communication strategy is not: “Nothing is wrong.”

It is: “Yes, this is a problem. Here is what we are doing about it.”

That sounds more human.

More credible.

More mature.

My Biggest Takeaway

The BJP's biggest mistake was assuming that because the old media ecosystem was hostile, it could simply be ignored.

The second mistake was believing that its own digital ecosystem could completely replace the media ecosystem.

It cannot.

A party needs both.

It needs its own communication channels.

And it needs relationships with the wider information ecosystem.

It needs its own voices.

And it needs to be heard by people who are not its own voices.

It needs supporters who can defend it.

And journalists who can question it.

Because a political party that only communicates with people who already agree with it is not building a narrative.

It is conducting a group discussion.

And group discussions don't win the next generation.

The BJP has mastered the art of election campaigning.

Now it needs to master the art of cultural and narrative influence.

Because the next election will not be fought only on the ground.

It will be fought in podcasts, comment sections, memes, reels, WhatsApp groups, regional YouTube channels and conversations between 19-year-olds who have never read a newspaper.

The Congress understood the old media game and played it for 70 years.

The BJP understood the digital game and changed Indian politics.

Now the next challenge is to combine both.

Because in today's India, the party that controls the narrative may not control every conversation.

But it will be present in every conversation that matters.