Modi turns to Instagram to reach India’s Gen Z as BJP refines its youth playbook
NEW DELHI — Narendra Modi has more than 106 million followers on Instagram. Now the Indian prime minister is trying to sound less like a
NEW DELHI — Narendra Modi has more than 106 million followers on Instagram. Now the Indian prime minister is trying to sound less like a head of government and more like a young creator.
In recent weeks, the 75-year-old leader has shifted from tightly staged posts to a looser style on the photo-and-video platform, using selfie-style messages, a get-ready-with-me reel and casual appeals to young users he calls “friends.” One recent clip even borrowed a Gen Z phrase as Modi spoke at a graduation ceremony in Delhi about students building “a rocket, a chip and a drone.”
A new front in the youth battle
The turn to Instagram comes as India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party faces fresh pressure to connect with younger voters. Youth-led protests last month, triggered by education policy and unemployment, jolted the political establishment and forced parties to rethink how they speak to Gen Z, a cohort that often follows politics through Instagram, YouTube, memes and campus networks rather than rallies or TV debates.
The BJP long built its digital muscle on WhatsApp and X, and its online machine helped power the party’s 2014 election victory. But Instagram had not been central to the party’s messaging strategy, even as Modi remained one of the platform’s most followed political figures.
That now appears to be changing. The party has formed a dedicated Gen Z outreach team, with names including Nitin Nabin, Smriti Irani, Vinod Tawde, Harsh Sanghavi and others, according to a party source quoted by news agency ANI. The team is expected to focus on young people’s aspirations, concerns and expectations, while giving them direct access to BJP leaders.
Charm, pressure and protest
The outreach push is unfolding alongside a harder line. In the wake of the protests, authorities have also been arresting organizers on public order charges, according to NPR. That mix of engagement and enforcement shows how fraught the political moment has become for the governing party.
Modi’s Instagram makeover fits that balancing act. Until about a month ago, his feed leaned heavily on polished, carefully curated posts. Now it includes more candid material and direct addresses aimed at a younger audience. The change is striking for a leader who has spent years cultivating a strongman image through scripted speeches, formal broadcasts and choreographed appearances.
The digital shift may matter well beyond India. Across the world, political parties are learning that younger voters often want a different tone, a faster reply and less ceremony. Modi’s team seems to have reached the same conclusion. The question is whether a friendlier reel can soften anger over jobs and education. The protests suggest the answer is not simple. One Modi Instagram video drew more than 21 million likes, NPR reported — a number that shows the reach, if not the trust, he is trying to build.
