When voters turn tech-savvy, can political parties be far behind
NEW DELHI : The Lok Sabha elections are here, and so is the noise. And this time, political parties and their campaigners are seeking to leverage digital technologies to the hilt, to invoke a ‘buzz’ among young, social-media savvy voters particularly in the 18-29 age group, in the hope that it might eventually translate into votes. From artificial intelligence (AI)-generated speeches of living, and even dead leaders, to politicians’ interviews on popular podcast channels and tie-ups with influencers, the 2024 general elections are throwing up several novel approaches to canvassing.
Not that traditional and outdoor media are being bypassed. Billboards, posters and banners are still being used, but selectively, where the impact is expected to be higher, such as in tier-II and tier-III towns. “Tier-I cities are seeing a lot of digital spends with ads running across all digital channels and political leaders interviewing with digital KOLs (key opinion leaders)," Rajni Daswani, director, digital marketing at digital agency SoCheers said.
“Smaller cities are seeing a lot of traditional media and out-of-home advertising, localized to fit the narrative that works in the region." The 2024 election marks the emergence of extensive AI integration to dub and translate vernacular languages that could reach a larger demographic. Perhaps what took the cake, even before the election dates were announced, was an AI-generated audio clip of late Tamil Nadu chief minister and AIADMK leader J. Jayalalitha, where her AI avatar sought support for party general secretary Edappadi K.
Palaniswami in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. AI is only one of various new fronts that have been opened in this election. Mitesh Kothari, co-founder and chief
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