Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Chasing youth vote, Indian parties blitz smartphones with political cartoons

GANESH Bhalerao is a cartoonist hoping to go viral in the battle to secure prime minister Narendra Modi's re-election when India votes over the next two months.

Hired by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to find amusing ways to lionise Modi or lampoon opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, Bhalerao is a social media warrior in an election campaign being fought online as never before.


"Political parties are realising the importance of cartoons as they elicit a huge response," the 29-year-old former art teacher said while feverishly sketching a piece glorifying the Modi government for ordering India's recent air strikes against Pakistan.

Cartoons posted on BJP-run Facebook pages, Twitter handles and WhatsApp groups are shared hundreds of times and reach millions, Bhalerao said as he worked in his apartment in the western city of Pune.

"A cartoon conveys the message of a 500-1,000 word article in just a minute," he said.

The scale of elections in India means voting is staggered, with the first regions going to vote on April 11, and the count to be completed on May 23.

Each day Bhalerao reads the local newspapers, watches the television news, and checks his WhatsApp messages, seeking ideas for an image or issue that might resonate with supporters of the Hindu nationalist BJP.

Being a Modi supporter himself makes it easier.

Like the BJP, Gandhi's Congress Party and other rivals have their own armies of artists, video editors, and journalists to create online content for the social media war.

Hired for the campaign season, they get paid a few hundred dollars a month, according to half a dozen party workers.

Social media has made it a lot easier for political parties to get out their message to more voters. But nowadays, India's masses want politics served with more pizzazz.

Nearly two-thirds of the population is under 35 years old. Most have little time or patience for attending political rallies, or wading through turgid party manifestoes.

"The larger audience is now more inclined to short videos, cartoons and visuals," Diptansu Chaudhury said in Kolkata, where he heads the IT wing of Trinamool Congress, a powerful regional party in West Bengal.

India is by far the world's biggest democracy, but most of its 1.3 billion population belong to lower income groups. And, at a time when more mature democracies than India's are grappling with the impact of social media, there are concerns about the electorate's susceptibility to false messages spread online.

As more than two-thirds of Indians live in rural areas, political parties are trying to extend their social media reach through regional languages, to go beyond urban areas where Hindi and English are more commonly spoken.

When Modi's BJP won a landslide victory in 2014, social media had not become as pervasive as it is today. Data plans were expensive and pricey smartphones were unaffordable for far more people.

Now there are more than 400 million smartphones users and consumers are able to access nearly 50 gigabytes of data for as little as $3 per month.

It all helps explain why social media platforms like Facebook, its messenger WhatsApp and micro-blogging site Twitter have become such fierce political battlegrounds.

In 2014, parties spent less than half a million dollars on digital advertising, but this time round it is likely to be closer to $26 million, according to a top media and marketing firm, which did not want to be named.

India's Election Commission has asked candidates to report their spending on social media and it also requires them to seek approval for advertisements, but such rules can be bypassed by the use of proxies.

A code of conduct, which prohibits political campaigning 48 hours before voting in any area, will apply for online campaigns too, the commission said earlier this month.

But the new rule is unlikely to stop thousands of party workers from spreading messages on social media platforms.

Putting a cut-off on campaigning doesn't have any effect anymore, as the Commission is unable to control what is posted online, according to Nikhil Pahwa, digital rights activist and editor of MediaNama, a Delhi-based publication.

"It just doesn't know how to deal with the idea of content being available online in perpetuity," Pahwa said.

(Reuters)

More For You

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

Photo for representation. (iStock)

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Manchester Police probes over 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects

GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE is now investigating more than 1,000 child sexual abuse suspects, following years of public criticism and institutional failings in tackling child sexual exploitation.

A new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has revealed the force has made “significant improvements” in dealing with group-based sexual abuse and related crimes.

Keep ReadingShow less
Diwali

This year’s Diwali event will still see Belgrave Road continue to host what is left of the festival. (Representational image)

Major changes announced for Leicester’s Diwali celebrations amid safety fears

LDRS

THIS year’s annual Diwali celebrations will be stripped back amid public safety fears. Leicester City Council has said there will be no fireworks or stage entertainment as part of major changes announced for the event.

Cossington Street Recreation Ground will also not be used for the festivities, the council has revealed. The green space previously was the location for the main stage and the Diwali Village with its food stalls, funfair rides, fashion and arts. The annual fire garden display was also based there, offering “a peaceful oasis amid the festive excitement”.

Keep ReadingShow less
Corbyn- Zarah Sultana

Zarah Sultana with Jeremy Corbyn during a protest outside Downing Street demanding the UK government to stop all arms sales to Israel. (Photo: X/@zarahsultana)

X/@zarahsultana

Zarah Sultana leaves Labour, plans new party with Corbyn and independents

FORMER Labour MP Zarah Sultana has announced her resignation from the party and plans to launch a new political party alongside ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and other independent MPs and activists.

Sultana, who represents Coventry South, lost the Labour whip last year for supporting the removal of the two-child benefit cap.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hasmukh Shah

The certificate was presented to Shah at the Welsh parliament by Anita Bailey, Home Office Director Windrush Unit.

Hasmukh Shah receives UK minister’s certificate of appreciation

A prominent Asian doctor has been recognised for his services to the community. Prof Hasmukh Shah has received a certificate of appreciation for his contribution and services to the United Kingdom.

The certificate was issued by Seema Malhotra MP, UK Minister for Migration and Citizenship, as part of the Windrush Cymru Elders and Race Council Cymru’s Windrush work in Wales.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dalai-Lama-Getty

Dalai Lama looks on as offerings presented by Buddhist followers are laid on a table during a Long Life Prayer offering ceremony at the Main Tibetan Temple in McLeod Ganj, near Dharamsala, India, on June 30, 2025.(Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

India says Dalai Lama alone can decide successor

A SENIOR Indian minister has said that only the Dalai Lama and the organisation he has established have the authority to decide his successor as the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism. The comment runs contrary to China’s long-standing position on the matter.

The Dalai Lama, who fled to India in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule, said on Wednesday that after his death he would be reincarnated as the next spiritual leader, and that only the Gaden Phodrang Trust would be able to identify his successor. He had earlier said that the next Dalai Lama would be born outside China.

Keep ReadingShow less