India's BJP replaces social media head weeks after youth protests

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) replaced its social media head on Monday as part of an organisational reshuffle, the party said, weeks after youth-led protests amplified through social media forced the resignation of the education minister.

The reshuffle is the first by new BJP president Nitin Nabin who took charge in January and, at 45, is the youngest party chief – a generational shift seen as part of the BJP's efforts to retain young voters.

Social media head Amit Malviya, who held the post since 2015, was replaced by Deepak Mhaskey, the BJP said in a statement.

It did not give any details about Mhaskey's previous role but his LinkedIn profile said he had served as a party spokesperson and head of its information technology cell in central India. It said nothing further about his role.

"I am confident that under their leadership, the BJP’s digital communication will achieve newer milestones and continue to shape India’s public discourse with conviction, creativity and clarity," Malviya said on X, referring to Mhaskey and his team.

Nabin did not specify the reason for the change or what the team would do differently under Mhaskey's leadership, but, referring to the broader reshuffle, said it would further strengthen the organisation and give it "new momentum".

The reshuffle comes weeks after tens of thousands of people staged protests in New Delhi and other cities to demand the resignation of then-education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the leak of question papers for a national medical college entrance exam.

Pradhan resigned on July 25.

The protests were spearheaded by the self-named Cockroach Janta Party that was born as a satirical platform on social media in May and went viral within days, amassing 15 million followers in less than a week.

The BJP, in comparison, had fewer than 9 million followers.

Social media became a major rallying point for the largely Gen Z protesters, who used it to mock Modi and his government through raps, songs and videos on platforms long harnessed by the BJP to communicate with supporters and shape its political messaging.