Official Troll Minister – Why This is The Latest Addition to The Social Media Lexicon Has my Attention

Perhaps Ms Chaturvedi has developed an ability for being clairvoyant. As the day panned out, the Prime Minister spoke of his vision for the what would be BJP’s plan going into the 2019 elections. Paying tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Modi has coined a new slogan - ‘Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP’

In a recent article published on Gulf News, journalist Swati Chaturvedi seems to have coined a term that has almost inadvertently caught my attention this weekend. In a stridently pro-Congress tenor, Chaturvedi, who’s the author of a book ’I’m a Troll: Inside BJP’s Secret Digital Army’, speaks about how Congress president Rahul Gandhi has turned ‘Shiv Bhakt’ to wrest Hindu votes from PM Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

But what caught my eye early in the morning was this extract : “Smriti Irani [pictured here] has clung on to the Modi Cabinet after varied demotions because she is the official troll minister to Gandhi. Her frustration is that Gandhi has never responded to her shrill and hysterical attacks.”

And having coined a term such as the ‘official troll minister’, Chaturvedi couldn’t resist a tweet.

“Smriti Irani [pictured here] has clung on to the Modi Cabinet after varied demotions because she is the official troll minister to Gandhi. Her frustration is that Gandhi has never responded to her shrill and hysterical attacks. https://t.co/XcqVAlkuHq

— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) September 9, 2018

Perhaps Ms Chaturvedi has developed an ability for being clairvoyant. As the day panned out, the Prime Minister spoke of his vision for the what would be BJP’s plan going into the 2019 elections. Paying tribute to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Modi has coined a new slogan – ‘Ajeya Bharat, Atal BJP’

BJP National Executive meet saw extensive discussions on many subjects. Party colleagues expressed their insightful views.
Our Party is humbled by the strong support across India. In the spirit of ‘Ajay Bharat, Atal Bhajpa’ we will continue working tirelessly for India’s growth. pic.twitter.com/aWsNxkQwaM

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 9, 2018

Recently a highly placed source in a RSS-front organisation was quietly confident of BJP’s chances in 2019. ‘Unnees aur chaar mein pandrah ka fasla hai (there’s a difference of 15 in 19 and 4)’ the man said obliquely referring to how in 2004 Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his government had suffered a stunning setback after it had called for elections early in May that year. Pollsters had predicted landslides of varying degrees and the government’s main poll plank was its ‘India Shining’ campaign. My source went on to explain that between 1999 and 2004 the government was a true-coalition led by the BJP whereas in the Modi-era the party enjoys a majority in Lok Sabha on its own, and with its allies has a number that crosses the 300-mark.

While I could dispute the numbers with recent setbacks in by-polls, changes in allies, et al, the overall premise seems sound. However May 2019 is still dome way away and there is many a slip between the cup and the lip.

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