NEW DELHI: Social media ads, posts on Instagram, Facebook, or X (formerly Twitter), videos and podcasts on YouTube, and messages and memes on WhatsApp—it’s a digital age, and so is election campaigning.
But what remains unchanged is the tradition of releasing manifestos and debates, and the politics around it. However, according to experts, a close look at recent manifestoes suggests a shift towards more leader-centric campaigns over party-centric ones.
Animesh Mishra, a doctorate candidate studying the political consulting industry at the University of Delhi, notes that this shift is particularly evident in the ruling party.
“By studying these manifestoes, we can see a shift towards a leader-centric campaign. For instance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name appears 73 times in the 2024 manifesto, compared to only twice in the 2014 manifesto,” Mishra points out.
He adds that the manifesto of the 2014 election, which was also Modi’s first election as the Prime Minister candidate, featured photos of BJP veterans like Murli Manohar Joshi and Lal Krishna Advani on its front page. In contrast, the 2019 manifesto exclusively featured the PM on the front page.
Instagram following further hints at a leader-centric shift, as leaders have more followers on their Instagram accounts than their parties.
The official Instagram account of the BJP has 7.8 million followers, while the PM has 89 million followers. Similarly, Congress has 5.3 million followers, Rahul Gandhi has 7.9 million followers, the Aam Aadmi Party has 1.5 million followers, and Arvind Kejriwal has 2.3 million followers on his Instagram account.
“With the advent of political consultants, political parties now operate like brands, and just as brands have influencers who create content for them, political parties are doing the same,” says Mishra.
Communications consultant and political campaign advisor Dilip Cherian suggests that the widespread use of mobile phones has led to more content-specific campaigns.
“People prefer to engage with the device in their hand rather than with someone in person. With the rise of a distracted audience constantly juggling different social media accounts, parties have started focusing their efforts on digital marketing. and social media accounts,” says Cherian.
Earlier, elections were about slogans. Their support was guaranteed if the party could tap into the correct demographic, whether rural or urban. However, Cherian notes, these slogans have now been replaced by catchy taglines, video memes and GIFs circulated on social media.
“Rural or urban, everyone is on social media now. Memes do well on these platforms, so parties are also trying to produce such content,” he says.
According to the 2024 Google Ad Transparency Centre report, Indian parties invested Rs 10 crore in Google ads in 2019, which increased to Rs 117 crore by January 1, 2024. The report also revealed that video content topped the list, with 82% of these ads in video format.
While print posters remain relevant, their importance has diminished, notes Cherian. Posing with the PM cutouts and posting on social media not only spreads a leader’s popularity but also generates content. Although it may not guarantee an increase in voter numbers, they have the potential to maintain committed votes.”