In the current digital landscape, social media has become a pivotal platform for citizens’ engagement, with political parties leveraging it extensively to advance their agendas.
With the counting for the 18th Lok Sabha elections in India concluded, all phases of voting, including the final seventh phase involving 57 parliamentary seats across eight states and union territories and 42 assembly seats in Odisha, have been completed.
Several incidents unfolded Throughout the election, and political parties significantly ramped up their digital campaign efforts, investing heavily to connect with voters and secure votes. Leading the expenditure in digital campaigning, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reportedly spent around 116 crore rupees on Google advertisements, dwarfing other parties’ digital spending.
Following the BJP, the Congress Party invested substantially in digital platforms, spending approximately 45.4 crore rupees.
Other regional parties were not far behind, with digital campaign expenditures ranging from 9.23 crore to 21.2 crore rupees. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, dedicating the largest budget to his digital campaign, complemented these efforts with 80 interviews across various print and electronic media outlets during the campaign period. This strategy underscores digital platforms’ growing significance and impact on modern electoral campaigns.