Even as it attempts—through its formidable grass-roots network and financial resources—to wean away the electorate from political outfits that pose as their constitutional guardians, the BJP has broken new ground with technology. First, it has taken advantage of the pervasiveness of digital platforms, using them to reach out and talk directly to communities that were once out of its grasp. Women across Indian society, who appear to have voted overwhelmingly for Modi in 2019, are one such constituency that the BJP assiduously cultivates through WhatsApp channels and digital media. Technology has disrupted traditional household voting patterns in India, and thanks to new-found digital access to news, views and narratives, women no longer follow the political preferences of their husbands or male elders in the family. Modi has expertly harvested their agency and empowerment.

Second, the Prime Minister has seized the aspirational attributes of technology, which transcend class or caste. It . . .