8 months ago
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The BJP, which has always taken the lead in using technology, is now leveraging artificial intelligence to reach out to voters in the language they are comfortable with.
In its quest to win 370 Lok Sabha seats on its own in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party knows that states where it did not manage to do very well in the last polls will hold the key. To this end, the BJP has begun translating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speeches to Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Odia, Punjabi and Marathi in real time.
Sources said that the fact that four of the eight languages are southern is no accident. In 2019, the BJP had won only 29 of the 129 Lok Sabha seats (130 including Puducherry) in the southern states and most of these had come from Karnataka, where the Congress swept to power in the last Assembly polls.
The technology had been used during the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in December last year as well, when PM Modi's speech had been translated into Tamil. "This is a new beginning and, hopefully, it makes it easier for me to reach you," the Prime Minister had told his listeners at the time.
Asked whether translating the PM's speeches will make a difference, Telugu Desam Party MP K Raghu Rama Krishna Raju told NDTV, "It will have a huge impact. People in the south, we like our local languages, and if it appears that anybody is interacting with us in our language, we love them. A towering personality like PM Modi doing so will win over the hearts of Telugus."
Mr Raju's remark came amid speculation of his party and the BJP forming an alliance in Andhra Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as well as the Assembly polls in the state.
Number-Crunching
The BJP's choice of the other languages is also strategic. Maharashtra and West Bengal send the second- and third-highest number of MPs to the Lok Sabha, respectively, and the party has been putting a lot of effort into bettering its numbers in these states. In 2019, it had won 23 seats in Maharashtra, while its ally Shiv Sena had achieved victory in 18. In Bengal, it had managed to win 18 of the state's 42 seats, which was seen as a big victory.
In Odisha, the party had won 8 of 21 seats and it had bagged 2 of the 13 seats in Punjab.
The translated speeches will be available on certain handles on X, including @NaMoInBengali, @NamoinKannada, @NaMoinTamil, @NaMoinTelugu and @NaMoinMarathi. Some of these handles also have the PM's addresses from last month.
பிரதம மந்திரி சூர்யா கர் முஃப்ட் பிஜிலி யோஜனா (பிரதமரின் இலவச மின்சார திட்டம்) ஒவ்வொரு மாதமும் 300 யூனிட் வரை இலவச மின்சாரம் வழங்குவதை நோக்கமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. pic.twitter.com/7hfJAFHLBj
— Narendra Modi Tamil (@NaMoInTamil) March 6, 2024প্রধানমন্ত্রী সূর্য ঘর মুফত বিজলি যোজনার লক্ষ্য প্রতি মাসে ৩০০ ইউনিট বিদ্যুৎ বিনামূল্যে সরবরাহ করা pic.twitter.com/VQRo5VJpbZ
— Narendra Modi Bangla (@NaMoInBengali) March 6, 2024Early Adopter
The BJP has earned a reputation of being a leader among political parties in its adoption of technology. From its IT cell and leveraging of social media, especially WhatsApp, to the use of Narendra Modi's holograms for campaigning as early as 2014, the party has left no stone unturned to ensure its messaging reaches every possible voter.
The party has also used the NaMo app to get feedback from the ground, build databases and even help pick candidates for constituencies. The app is also being used to collect donations for the party under the 'Donation For Nation Building' campaign.
A website called Modi Story is also run by the party to share inspiring stories about Narendra Modi, told by people who have interacted with him.
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