Deepak Mhaskey, who has taken over from Amit Malviya as the BJP’s IT cell chief, on Tuesday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Nitin Nabin for giving him the responsibility, describing it as a “big responsibility”. He praised Malviya for his “beautiful work” over the past 11 years and said he would continue to seek his guidance.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Mhaskey said the BJP’s digital team would need to continuously adjust to evolving platforms, trends and narratives. He said social media and technology were changing constantly and the party’s team needed to remain updated at all times.
Malviya had led the BJP’s IT and social media operations for 11 years after taking charge in 2015. He was replaced on Monday as part of a fresh organisational reshuffle. The BJP appointed Mhaskey as social media convenor, while Priti Gandhi, Shivanand Dwivedi, Alok Bhatt and Arun Yadav were named co-convenors.
Speaking about his predecessor, Mhaskey said Malviya had done “beautiful work” and that he intended to seek his advice. He said he had worked alongside Malviya for a long period, had been part of his team and had learned considerably from him.
Mhaskey said he contacted Malviya after being appointed and received an assurance of continued support. According to him, Malviya congratulated him and promised that the cooperation he had always extended would continue.
The new BJP IT chief said his immediate priority would be to ensure that the party’s messaging reaches the grassroots effectively, especially through WhatsApp groups and other booth-level platforms.
He said the party would closely examine whether its content was reaching booth-level workers and whether its key issues were being communicated effectively to people. Areas where the booth-level strategy was weak, he said, would be strengthened.
Mhaskey also said the BJP would tailor its messaging according to different audiences and select platforms accordingly to improve the effectiveness of its communication.
Asked whether the BJP was losing ground as Gen Z increasingly turns to social media for protests and political mobilisation, Mhaskey rejected the suggestion that the party was behind, while stressing the need for constant adaptation.
He said social media platforms evolve every day and the BJP would have to remain continuously updated. The party would study which content was trending, understand the direction in which narratives were developing and formulate its strategies accordingly.
On content moderation, Mhaskey said the BJP would seek to make its communication engaging while staying away from misinformation. He said the party would use whatever medium was necessary to present its issues in an interesting manner.
He added that the BJP would not lead in spreading false information, saying the emphasis would instead be on presenting genuine issues in an engaging way so that people would be interested in reading and watching them.
ON ANTI-INDIA CONTENT
Addressing the spread of anti-India content online and how it should be tackled, Mhaskey said the BJP would respond through factual communication while operating within the legal framework.
He said repeated circulation of a lie might temporarily make it appear significant, but it would not change the fact that it remained untrue.
Mhaskey pointed to existing IT laws and said the government was seriously addressing the issue. He added that as head of the party’s digital wing, any such cases that came to its attention would be reported through the prescribed process.
TRAINING AND STRATEGY FOR 2027 AND 2029
On training young MPs and policy researchers, Mhaskey said training was already a fundamental part of the BJP’s organisational structure.
He said party workers were trained across subjects and that the organisation also conducted training programmes for others, with social media continuing to be an important area of focus.
Mhaskey said the BJP was also examining algorithms and studying why particular issues gain traction during protests. He said the party was analysing how and why such developments occur, who may be behind them and would use those findings while preparing its strategies.
On the BJP’s plans for the 2027 Assembly elections, including Uttar Pradesh, as well as the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, Mhaskey said the party would first analyse the evolving digital environment before determining its strategy.
