New Delhi: As the seven-phase Lok Sabha polls commenced on Friday, social media became a battleground of vivid memes, many of which incorporated comical references from Bollywood films, as political entities sought to both challenge their adversaries and engage the electorate.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections represent the world’s grandest democratic exercise, and prominent political factions have endeavored to outmaneuver each other both at physical rallies and in digital skirmishes. Platforms such as Instagram and X saw a deluge of contentious poster contests and fierce meme sparring, all aimed at asserting political dominance. Amid this online tumult, the Election Commission of India (ECI) leveraged memes to engage the electorate, particularly young and first-time voters, often using witty lines from popular films to convey its message.
On Wednesday, the ECI tweeted, “We are enthusiastic to participate in #LokSabhaElections2024. Are you prepared? #SaathChalenge #Elections2024 #ChunavKaParv #DeshKaGarv #FirstTimeVoters #ECI,” accompanied by a meme inspired by a scene from ‘Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani’ with the tagline ‘Excitement of first-time voters before voting.’
The ECI previously announced that 102 seats across 21 states and Union territories would be contested in the first phase, with polling commencing at 7 AM on Friday and concluding at 6 PM.
Candidates include Union ministers Nitin Gadkari, Sarbananda Sonowal, and Bhupendra Yadav; Gaurav Gogoi of Congress; DMK’s Kanimozhi; and K Annamalai of BJP. The electorate includes 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women, and 11,371 third-gender voters. Additionally, there are 35.67 lakh first-time voters and 3.51 crore young voters aged 20-29 participating in this phase.
The ECI’s X account showcased images of voters lining up at polling stations and showing off inked fingers to security personnel across multiple states, underscoring India’s democratic variety. To foster a deeper connection with the populace, the Commission occasionally used regional languages in its posts.
“Amar vote, amar doyitvo! #MyVoteMyDuty #YouAreTheOne #IVote4Sure Check out the quick snapshot of the #Phase1 polling in #WestBengal #ChunavKaParv #DeshKaGarv #GeneralElections2024 #GoVote,” the ECI posted on Friday alongside photos of voters in West Bengal.
Featuring images from Rajasthan, the ECI posted on X using phrases such as “Padharo Mhare Polling Booth.” The ECI characterized the elections as the “festival of democracy” and “Chunav ka Parv,” while on Thursday evening, it shared an invitation card on X, both in English and Hindi, describing it as the ‘Grand Voting Invitation’ with RSVP for ‘All voters of India.’
On the eve of the first phase, the ECI put up an array of digital posters on X to motivate voters to exercise their voting rights. It also reposted a meme themed around the film ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi’ shared by Doordarshan, as well as a classic poster by Amul on the 2024 polls with the tagline—’World’s greatest elections! Amul Your preferred choice’.
The ECI’s X account also shared a digital poster featuring Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar’s message on Thursday: “CEC encourages every voter to vote alongside their family and friends in #GeneralElections2024. #IVote4Sure #ChunavKaParv #DeshKaGarv #YouAreTheOne #SaathChalenge.”
In recent days, the Commission employed memes to raise awareness, as on April 11, when it shared a lighthearted meme inspired by “The Family Man” series, sparking laughter among netizens. Experts suggest that humor and memes resonate with youth, potentially increasing the impact on young voters as the poll panel aims to boost turnout.
The ruling BJP and opposition parties Congress, AAP—part of the INDIA bloc—have leveraged online platforms to outwit each other in the ‘NDA vs INDIA’ contest. On Thursday, the AAP posted several posters on X criticizing the ruling party.
“Jaan ki baazi laga denge lekin desh ke samvidhan par aanch nahin aane denge,” AAP posted a digital banner on X with an image of its leader Sanjay Singh, recently released from jail. AAP has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in speeches, press conferences, and social media.
A recent digital poster by AAP on X featured the slogan ‘Modi ko hatana hai kyoniki…’ and the tagline ‘BJP Hatao, Samvidhan Bachao,’ with an image of Modi. On Thursday, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party also posted posters on X regarding its ‘Jail ka Jawab Vote se’ campaign, using the hashtag #JailKaJawabVoteSe.
On March 15, AAP shared a video meme on X mocking the BJP over electoral bonds, while other posts critiqued its manifesto—Sankalp Patra—as not a ‘Ghoshna Patra’ but a ‘Jumla Patra’.
The BJP’s social media has centered around images and slogans like ‘Modi ki Guarantee’ and ‘Vikas Bhi, Virasat Bhi,’ both prominently featured in its manifesto. On Thursday, the Congress shared a video on X subtly jabbing the ruling BJP with the sarcastic tagline ‘Berozgari bahut hai, Baki sab thik hai’.
On Wednesday, the grand old party also posted a quirky poster on X criticizing Prime Minister Modi. The Election Commission has deployed over 18 lakh polling personnel across 1.87 lakh polling stations, where over 16.63 crore voters will cast their ballots. While polling began on Friday, the meme wars may intensify until the final phase on June 1.