From Singers to Actors & Digital Creators, BJP Woos ‘Influencers’ to Go Viral in Uttarakhand Poll Battle – News18

If you are a music buff, chances are that you must have come across Jubin Nautiyal’s ‘Mere Ghar Ram Aaye Hain’ song that went viral ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared it on social media. However, many may not know that the lyrics of the popular number are penned by Dr Prachi Kandwal, an Uttarakhand-based lyricist.

Kandwal is among the many Uttarakhand-based ‘influencers’ that the BJP has tapped into to encash their popularity and following in the hill state for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.

In fact, the BJP held an influencers’ meet in Uttarakhand’s Srinagar organised by Shehzad Poonawala where Garhwal Lok Sabha candidate Anil Baluni had lunch with the artists.

Saurav Maithani, Folk Singer

One of the prime catches of the BJP in Uttarakhand is popular folk singer Saurabh Maithani. Active on Instagram, Maithani is Uttarakhand’s go-to name for performances at cultural events. He recently lent his voice to a song that talks about ‘Pahadi Asmita’ [pride of the Hills] and sang it at BJP’s Srinagar event. The party has been using the song widely. Recently, Uttarakhand’s culture minister Satpal Maharaj felicitated Maithani at an event.

Poonam Sati, Garhwali Singer

Poonam Sati is best known in Garhwal region for her ‘Ni Ayi Thola Ma’ and also holds events outside the state for the community. In March, she was a popular pick in Navi Mumbai for ‘Uttarakhand Festival Mumbai’. At the end of the month, she sang for BJP’s Holi Milan event and shared the performance on her Instagram profile too.

Natasha Shah, Digital Creator

Shah, who describes herself as a ‘digital creator’ and acts in Uttarakhand’s music videos, is also being wooed by the saffron party. With 1,00,000 followers on Instagram, her endorsement of the BJP will help the party reach out young and first-time voters in the state.

Sanjoli Singh, Actor

Singh is an actor who has nearly 60,000 followers on Instagram. One of her latest movies is a Punjabi foray — ‘Khuyiton Paijabi’. She has also been cast in Uttarakhand films like ‘Ankh surma, gaal powder’. She was present at Baluni’s lunch for the influencers which was followed by a detailed session where Poonawala articulated what the party expects from them.

Several other influencers that the party is trying to woo include Hritik Rawat, Ishika Rawat as well as Shekhar Verma who is the former head of social media of Uttarakhand BJP. Verma coined the slogan for Baluni’s Lok Sabha campaign — ‘Modi Dagad Uttarakhand, Baluni Dagad Garhwal’. In local language, ‘Dagad’ translates to ‘with’.

This is not the first time the BJP has used influencers to its advantage. Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave away the first National Creators Award, 2024, to recognise the excellence and knowledge of online creators who create content across various categories.

Of late, many Modi cabinet ministers have started the trend of giving interviews to social media influencers.