The BJP is planning to translate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches in eight languages in an effort to reach out to voters in the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. The party will use artificial intelligence for dubbing the speeches in Kannada, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Odia and Marathi in real time.
Targetting 370 Lok Sabha seats to win on its own, the BJP is focusing on states where it did not perform well in the last general elections, sources said here.
The fact that four of the eight languages are southern is no accident, they said. 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 Prime Minister Modi's speech were translated into Tamil. He had said it is new beginning and it makes him easier to reach out to them.
The choice of the other languages is also strategic. Maharashtra and 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.
The BJP is known to be among the first 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.