Chasing Delhi's Eye: How State Units Of BJP & Congress Court Social Media Controversy For Attention

Last Updated:September 18, 2025, 16:51 IST

The desire to catch the eye of central leaders sometimes results in avoidable controversies, opportunistic campaigns, and factional infighting

The recent events in Assam, Kerala, and Bihar highlight how both the BJP and Congress state units are locked in a contest not just against rivals but also within their own hierarchies. (Representational Image)

A 31-second video on social media site X posted by BJP’s Assam Pradesh handle, depicting Muslims, presumably Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis, taking over the state, has garnered around 4.5 million views in days. Assam is not like most other states. In 1979, the state erupted into the Assam Agitation (or Assam Movement), a popular campaign against illegal immigration that compelled the government to identify and expel illegal immigrants and prevent new immigration.

While the Congress has criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party for being silent, it cannot claim moral high ground, as its Bihar unit released an objectionable AI video featuring lookalikes of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his mother, prompting the courts to intervene and demand the video be taken down.

In India’s federal political landscape, state units of national parties often act less like autonomous engines of strategy and more like anxious apprentices seeking validation from their high commands in Delhi. The desire to catch the eye of central leaders sometimes results in avoidable controversies, opportunistic campaigns, and factional infighting. The recent events in Assam, Kerala, and Bihar highlight how both the BJP and Congress state units are locked in a contest not just against rivals but also within their own hierarchies.

Assam BJP: Power play in Bodoland

The ongoing Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) elections in Assam have become a litmus test for the BJP’s state machinery. By deciding to contest solo after years of alliance politics, the state unit signalled its eagerness to project strength directly before the central leadership. Local Bharatiya Janata Party leaders are framing the election not merely as a regional battle but as a demonstration of Assam BJP’s ability to stand tall in the Northeast—an implicit message to the central command that their state machinery deserves greater prominence in shaping BJP’s national strategy for the region.

However, the Assam Pradesh BJP has been accused of xenophobia in its pursuit. A skullcap-wearing man chopping beef on the road, Guwahati Accoland taken over by men wearing lungi and skullcap, Assam Rang Ghar with women in hijab taking selfies, and men and women crossing an open border—all seem to suggest a demographic shift, a fear many Assamese have, but for cultural reasons.

Pradeep Bhandari, national spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party, said, “The BJP in Assam stands with the people of Assam who are united against illegal infiltrators. The appeasement of the Congress party makes them look at the issue of illegal infiltration from a vote bank perspective. If you’re talking about state units, the anti-India state units have been the Congress. The recent example of it has been Kerala Congress, which has equated the proud people of Bihar with Beedis. They get their inspiration to be anti-national from Rahul Gandhi. Even an apology by them is not enough."

Bihar Congress: Using the dead

While Assam BJP is seeking attention through bold assertion, the Bihar Congress has chosen a different path—targeting PM Modi personally by involving his mother. The AI-generated video fiasco was intended to counter The Prime Minister on alleged “vote chori“. This was likely the first time Congress officially used the PM’s mother as a political tool. Earlier, at a Bihar Congress-RJD rally, an alleged supporter of the parties hurled abuses at PM Modi, which prompted a retort from the Prime Minister himself.

On September 10, Bihar Congress posted an AI-generated video featuring lookalikes of Prime Minister Modi and his mother, the late Heeraben. The imaginary conversation is political, to say the least. However, on Wednesday, the Patna High Court directed Congress to remove the video from its social media handles. The court also issued notices to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other relevant parties.

For many local satraps, controversies are a tool to demonstrate their indispensability to the high command, even if it undermines the party’s credibility on the ground. Politically, the video didn’t get a lot of support, and the BJP alleges that a deceased mother was dragged into a political fight.

Kerala Congress: One controversy at a time

The Kerala Congress unit has also mastered the art of headline-making, though often for the wrong reasons. Each controversy is less about ideological clarity and more about who can draw the attention of the Gandhis, especially at a time when the Congress is desperate to retain relevance in one of its last surviving strongholds.

Let’s take some of the most recent ones, for instance. After the GST Council’s recalibration, a controversial social media post by the Kerala unit of the Congress party triggered widespread political backlash ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly polls. Even some Congress leaders from the north were not amused.

The now-deleted post shared on X said, “Bidis and Bihar start with B. Cannot be considered a sin anymore." Bidi taxes were recently reduced from 28% to 18%. Congress ally Tejashwi Yadav sought an apology, and the Kerala Congress issued one. In poll-bound Bihar, Chirag Paswan quickly lashed out at the comparison and said this was “deeply insulting to Bihar and crores of Biharis".

In May, a post on X by the Kerala unit of the Congress with the tagline “One Nation, One Husband" was brutally criticised for sharing “fake news" to advance a political narrative.

Last year, trying to be sarcastic, Kerala Congress posted a photo of Pope Francis and PM Modi and wrote, “Finally the Pope got a chance to meet God." In Kerala, where Christians form nearly 19% of the population, the backlash forced it to offer an unconditional apology.

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