How Political Parties Are Wooing Voters Online

With restrictions on in-person campaigning, political parties are wooing voters online

- Soni Mishra

UP MEIN SAB BA (UP has everything) sang popular Bhojpuri entertainer and BJP MP Ravi Kishan. The song, rendered in a catchy rap style, was released by the BJP on social media as a campaign anthem for the assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh. Its message: the state, under the Yogi Adityanath government, has seen tremendous development.

It was soon countered with UP Mein Ka Ba (What is there in UP), sung by Bhojpuri singer Neha Singh Rathore. Rathore released the song on Twitter and YouTube; BJP’s rivals latched on to it and it became quite the rage on social media.

The musical duel filled digital media with the kind of razzle-dazzle that is associated with elections in India, but which is somewhat absent in the physical campaign for the coming assembly polls owing to Covid-19 restrictions.

But the restrictions on in-person campaigning by the Election Commission did not surprise political parties, which already had online and offline strategies in place. All major political parties are boosting their campaign using Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Apart from releasing campaign songs online, posters, too, are being designed specifically for digital use. Virtual rallies are being planned and live video content is being posted online. Strategies also include recorded audio appeals by leaders and phone calls to voters. Most parties have also deployed vans fitted with LED screens to broadcast speeches of leaders and other campaign content.