"He be hustling 24x7 for 2047, yo! Vote for Modi, vote for the G.O.A.T" — these lines are part of the lyrics of a music video posted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s official handle on X last week.
G.O.A.T = 'Greatest Of All Time.'
Arguably, this latest video is in line with the government's recent efforts to intensify their outreach and messaging to woo young voters.
In this particular video, the lyrics are as follows:
"Vote, vote, vote..Vote for the GOAT, Modi ko jaayega apna first vote!"
Now, for the Boomers and Millennials, if you're not aware, let me break this down for you.
With using slangs such 'FYI,' 'It's giving me yesterday,' 'Modi hain Next Gen ke green flag' and 'Modi doesn't lag, we need someone who's got all the swag' and wait for it...'Progress is coded, Modi is the GOAT.'
The last one is technically a bit off, the 'coded' slang essentially means something that has particular or shared traits, such as activities associated with girls would be 'girl coded' or if someone's gay then they're 'queer coded.' Here, it should have been 'progress coded'.
The music video adds that because of PM Modi, people are 'ghosting black money' and globally, everyone is now 'Bharat ke simp.'
Ghosting = abruptly cutting off/disappearing. Simp = Fan/lover.
It's not enough that these lyrics are only fitted together for the sake of rhyming, it reads and sounds like a Boomer who has just discovered Gen Z slang language and has decided to use all of them together in one go. And the result? It's a bit forced.
For the uninitiated, the video seeks to squeeze and pack together all the BJP's claims on roads, economy, startups for the youth, black money, corruption.
To the point that the 'youth' in the video sings, "Dukh, dard, peeda ko bhi ab hota hai FOMO, cuz decade-old problems ko keh diya hai NO-MO." FOMO = Fear of Missing Out. NO-MO, as you guessed it, No More."
The video has got over 980k views on X.
The 'NAMO OP' Attempt
Some days prior to when the elections began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met with 'India's top gamers,' as ANI put it. It was in this meet that the gamers gave him the name 'NAMO OP.'
OP = Over-Powered, this phrase is often used by gamers and YouTubers.
These gamers, Animesh Agarwal, Mithilesh Patankar, Payal Dhare, Naman Mathur and Anshu Bisht, Tirth Mehta and Ganesh Gangadhar, all of them posted reels and posts about their meeting with PM Modi.
So, a meet also turned into promotional videos on Instagram where PM Modi is a 'collaborator' on posts.
In fact, they posted separate reels as teasers and individual posts with PM Modi. In fact, one of these gamers, Mathur, was recently felicitated by BJP leader Dr Sanjeev Naik as well.
Several people on X reacted to this meetup, stating that the PM will meet anyone except journalists or locals in Manipur.
Co-opting Pepe the Frog
Another video posted by '@BJP4Telangana' generated a great deal of controversy.
For starters, it uses 'Pepe the Frog," which even though looks harmless, has a deeply problematic history.
The video shows, Pepe the Frog touching, what can be assumed as Lord Ram statue's feet and then there's a vision spanning over decades, from Mughal history, Babri masjid demolition, extreme right-wing Hindutva leaders and PM Modi laying down foundation of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.
American artist Matt Furie created Pepe the Frog, with his catchphrase ‘Feels good man,' for his comic series Boy’s Club in 2005.
However, the harmless character was quickly adapted as a meme on internet forums such as 4chan, 8chan and Reddit. These are now mostly used to express racist and anti-Semitic takes and have spread virally on Facebook and Twitter.
Between 2014 and 2015, the Alt-Right movement, a disparate group of right-wing social media users, repeatedly shared Pepe and appropriated the meme on social media, where even former US President Donald Trump posted himself as a Pepe meme in 2015.
'ECI Kahaan Hain?' Ask Opposition Supporters
Remember the Everest Chaat masala ad which went like — "Taste Kahaan Hain?" In a similar fashion, over the last few weeks, many Opposition leaders, journalists and noted personalities have asked — "ECI Kahaan Hain?" (where is the EC?).
They were especially reacting to the use of Ram Mandir in the Telangana BJP video.
The allegation is that such campaigning violates the following electoral rules and regulations:
"There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, Churches, Temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda," laid down in Model Code of Conduct.
Section 123 (3) of The Representation of the People Act, 1951, says appealing for votes in the name of religion, caste or community is a corrupt electoral practice.
Few days after the Ram temple consecration in January, at 'Namo Navmatdata Sammelan,' PM Modi also virtually interacted with thousands of first-time voters. The event was organised by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP.
Hence, the PM has geared up his push to the young voters, whether it's through a full-fledged music video, meet up with gamers or co-opting memes. Then it's hard not to agree with how one of the gamers put it:
"Who's the biggest influencer in India? It's our Prime Minister!"
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