How parties’ political agenda played out on digital media in 2019

The year 2019 saw a big high when it came to political advertising, especially during the time of the General Elections and various State Assembly Elections. Traditional media was used extensively during this time, with Radio witnessing a 17 per cent increase in ad insertions, while TV recorded an 8 per cent increase. As per various reports, political parties also spent over Rs 400 crore on outdoor advertising during this time. 

Digital platforms are also increasingly featuring in political parties’ media plans. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections as well as Assembly Elections saw some of the best ads, both in terms of creatives and investment done by political parties. Here are some campaigns from the 2019 General and Assembly Elections:

Leveraging the digital age 

Social media platform TikTok, which made quite a splash in 2019, also saw politics-led initiatives prevailing on the platform. While the Government did warn TikTok about its political involvement, following which the platform banned political ads, political agenda still prevailed as individual candidates continued to put up their videos on TikTok. 

Apart from banking on videos uploaded on digital platforms, the year saw political parties leveraging hashtag trends on Twitter in a big way to push forward their agenda. For instance, one would recall the #ChowkidaarChorHai hashtag that spread like wildfire during the year as well as BJP’s retort – #MaiBhiChowkidaar, which saw almost all BJP members featuring ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ as their status on Twitter. 

#MaiBhiChowkidaar, an inspirational initiative by PM @narendramodi to instil a sense of responsibility,dignity& accountability.
Calling all the proud chowkidars of India to join PM Modi for a live interaction on 31stMarch,5pm. I will be joining frm Secunderabad Parliament office pic.twitter.com/csY6RA1HYP

— G Kishan Reddy (@kishanreddybjp) March 29, 2019

Jammu emphatically says 'Main Bhi Chowkidar Hoon'!#MaiBhiChowkidaar#MainBhiChowkidar #मैं_भी_चौकीदार_हूँ@narendramodi pic.twitter.com/Y49Ngtscnb

— Karan Pal (@karangc4) March 29, 2019

A small warrior of @narendramodi ji, ready for the #LokSabhaEelctions2019 to promote #BJP. #MaiBhiChowkidaar pic.twitter.com/Dl92wUSi4F

— Jatin Makol (@JatinMakol) May 5, 2019

While the Congress led many hashtags to take on their political rivals, BJP used digital platforms to promote the Government’s agenda. 

Chowkidar Chor Hai. https://t.co/cXmDA48Ydg

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 8, 2019

#Pappu ~!
आवाज़ नीचे~!😁
अब क्या
नैरू~इंद्रा~राजीऊ का नाम
लादेन-बगदादी की
फेहरिस्त में लाकर रहेगा!🤗#PappuFirPakdaGaya
यदि राष्ट्रनायक @narendramodi जी
ने सुन लिया व जनता से
कांग्रेस का बहिष्कार करने की अपील कर दी
तो #GE2019 में
कांग्रेस1सीट नही जीत पाएगीhttps://t.co/qxiHjInSm2

— जय #जयश्रीराम 🙏🌷🚩 #VTD_EkantBhai (@SaundiD) February 8, 2019

हम गंभीर आरोप लगा रहे हैं कि कांग्रेस नहीं चाहती हैं कि हमारी वायुसेना मजबूत हो, राफेल सौदा रद्द आप किसकी भलाई के लिए लगे हो,तीस साल तक सेना को निहथा बनाकर रखा इसका इतिहास गवाह है:PM #ModiUnstoppable
पुरे कांग्रेसी शुरू से ही सैनिक विरोधी एवं देशद्रोही है। pic.twitter.com/3yxdZ1qN6M

— 🇮🇳 Ajay Kushwaha 🇮🇳 अजय कुशवाहा 🇮🇳 (@AjayKushwaha_) February 8, 2019

This is a momentous achievement for the urban poor and the middle class. This initiative has been marked by transparency, use of technology and rapid implementation. I congratulate entire team at @mohua_india for their hardwork to ensure every Indian has a roof over their head. https://t.co/MFnVVEYeJT

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 27, 2019

वर्ष 2022 में जब हमारा देश अपनी आजादी के 75 वर्ष का पर्व मनाए, तब हमारे संकल्पों की सिद्धि ही हमारे राष्ट्र निर्माताओं को हमारी श्रद्धांजलि होगी।
आज हमें यहां से किसानों की आय दोगुनी करने के लिए नई ऊर्जा लेकर, नई प्रतिबद्धता लेकर जाना है: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 2, 2020

We also saw politicians of all hues use social media to not only promote their respective parties’ political agenda, but also share their personal views. Here are a few examples: 

नागरिकता संशोधन अधिनियम के समर्थन में @BJYM द्वारा चलाए जा रहे देशव्यापी हस्ताक्षर अभियान की आज अमेठी जनपद में शुरुआत की।

CAA के बारे में अमेठीवासियों को जागरूक कर उनसे समर्थन प्राप्त करने हेतु यह हस्ताक्षर अभियान अमेठी के प्रत्येक ब्लॉक में आयोजित किया जाएगा।#IndiaSupportsCAA pic.twitter.com/RHjb0fwlAq

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) January 6, 2020

CAA पाकिस्तान,बांग्लादेश व अफगानिस्तान में धार्मिक बर्बरता के प्रहार से कराहती मानवता के घावों पर संजीवनी लेप एवं शरणागत के प्रति प्रभु श्री राम की उदारता का अनुगमन एवं पीड़ित समुदायों को सम्मानित जीवन देने का मार्ग है।
आदरणीय प्रधानमंत्री जी को इस हेतु धन्यवाद#IndiaSupportsCAA

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) December 30, 2019

#Trinamool22 Today @AITCofficial turns 22. The journey which began on January 1, 1998 has been full of struggles, but we have been steadfast in our resolve to fight for the people. We thank Maa-Mati-Manush for their constant support. Our workers are our biggest assets (1/2)

— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) January 1, 2020

मैं दिल्ली के कार्यकर्ताओं से अपील करता हूँ कि चुनाव सिर्फ सभाओं से नहीं लड़ना है परंतु घर-घर जाकर लड़ना है और छोटी-छोटी मौहल्ला सभा करके लड़ना है।

मैं स्वयं इन मौहल्ला सभाओं की शुरुआत करने जा रहा हूँ।

दिल्ली के हर व्यक्ति तक हमको मोदी सरकार की उपलब्धियाँ व योजनाएँ पहुँचानी है। pic.twitter.com/4SoLRYgfFl

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) January 5, 2020

Beyond simple advertising 

Such activities were not exclusive to the election times but were a year round phenomenon. For example, the introduction of the contentious NRC and CAA, which have caused strong protests across the country, saw social media users divided into two separate and very vocal camps opposing and supporting these two BJP-led measures. Hashtags like #IndiaAgainstNRC and #IndiaSupportsNRC were used to fight out a digital battle on Twitter. Political parties and members have been using this platform extensively to promote ‘What’s right’ for the country. 

https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1211569807683801088

https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1210062130415693825

https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1208746667786166272

The year 2019 also saw the abolishing of Article 370, and bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. While this initiative was promoted aggressively by the government, there was a sharp divide on social media with people either hailing this move or vehemently opposing it. Other political agendas like the Ram Mandir verdict, too, saw similar patterns of promotions and reactions by people on social media. Here are a few examples: 

https://twitter.com/BesuraTaansane/status/1211716129443303427

https://twitter.com/BesuraTaansane/status/1211277426191241222

https://twitter.com/ShoneeKapoor/status/1210940236416471042

https://twitter.com/rajtarangini2/status/1210765901202542592

https://twitter.com/bengaluruboy48/status/1210116866158415874

https://twitter.com/abbra_ka_dabra/status/1209769161880027136