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How is digital campaigning shaping India鈥檚 elections?

Five states in India are headed to regional ballots in the coming weeks. More than 180 million people are eligible to vote to choose their local leaders.

Five states in India are headed to regional ballots in the coming weeks. More than 180 million people are eligible to vote to choose their local leaders for nearly 690 assembly seats. Physical rallies and election roadshows have been banned due to the pandemic, and poll campaigning has shifted online, with hashtags and digital rallies dominating the election battle. Many political parties have even trained their workers as 鈥渟ocial media warriors鈥 to spread their message.

But can digital campaigning really be effective in states that have many regions still with little or no access to the internet? Can virtual meetings really replace the impact of seeing your leaders in person? And does misinformation influence voting behaviour?

In this edition of WorklifeIndia, we discuss the way digital campaigning is shaping India鈥檚 elections.

Presenter: Devina Gupta
Contributors: Ankit Lal, founder, Politique Advisors; Rajika Kacheria, media joint in-charge, BJP - Gujarat North Zone; Sanjay Kumar, professor - CSDS, political analyst

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26 minutes

Last on

Sun 23 Jan 2022 05:32GMT

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A woman looks at a mobile phone (Credit: Arijit Mondal via Getty Creative)

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  • Sun 23 Jan 2022 05:32GMT

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