KOCHI: In politics, every message counts—and increasingly most of it travels through a screen. From cadre-heavy campaigns to algorithm-driven outreach, Kerala’s major political parties are rapidly recalibrating their strategies, placing digital media at the heart of electioneering.
For CPM, the shift is rooted in a hard lesson. The party’s loss in Tripura—where a relatively inexperienced BJP rode to power on the back of an aggressive WhatsApp campaign—continues to shape its thinking. Determined not to be caught off guard again, the Left is now investing heavily in building a robust digital ecosystem. The party is also leveraging its diaspora, particularly in the Middle East, to amplify its messaging back home.
K S Arun Kumar, a member of the CPM’s Ernakulam district committee, told TNIE that the transformation was inevitable. “When we once prided ourselves that former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar did not even own a mobile phone, the election defeat came as a rude shock. BJP openly admitted that it had no ground organisation but relied on a WhatsApp army to win. That taught us the importance of digital communication and power of social media in reaching voters,” he said.
Urbanisation, he added, has made traditional campaigning less effective. “Earlier, house visits were central to campaigning. Now, most people are at work, and in gated communities or apartments, entry is restricted. The only way to reach them is through messaging and social media,” he said.
Despite concerns over misinformation, CPM believes digital tools can be used constructively. “Explaining government initiatives, countering opposition allegations, and informing people about schemes can all be done cost-effectively through social media,” Arun said, noting that the party runs a decentralised, volunteer-driven network trained to identify and counter fake narratives.
If CPM is adapting, BJP is operating from a position of strength. Widely seen as the most digital savvy political force in the country, the party has built a formidable online machinery that complements its grassroots work. “It is our biggest advantage. Today, even my mother has a WhatsApp account. BJP has built a very strong WhatsApp network,” said Abhijith Radhakrishnan Nair, social media convenor for BJP Kerala.
For BJP, digital outreach is not a substitute but an extension of on-ground mobilisation. “Whatever you do on the ground must be supplemented through social media,” he said. The party’s communication architecture is layered. “BJP’s central leadership sets national narratives, while the state leadership designs messages tailored for Kerala, which are then shared across the party’s 30 district units,” Abhijith explained.
KPCC vice-president and chairman of the Congress digital media team, Hibi Eden, said digital media is a very important tool for campaigning. “Social media helps in creating the identity of leaders and enables us to reach a larger audience. A video of one of our candidates, A D Thomas from Alappuzha, has gone viral, showing him fishing in the sea. You may recall how a social media campaign helped Vyshna Suresh stay in the fray, and eventually win, after her nomination was initially rejected on technical grounds,” he said.
“We have a war room in Thiruvananthapuram, headed by an experienced hand from Karnataka. Moreover, the AICC digital media team is also focusing on the state and pitching in. Congress is strict about its social media strategy. We have tight controls to ensure that no sensitive, communal, or gender-related content is circulated. We also have a team that actively responds to campaign strategies of opposing parties, which can often turn nasty,” he added.
As parties compete to dominate the digital space, one thing is clear: the battleground has shifted.