Kerala Assembly elections | A race to dominate the social media narrative

Campaign battle has been fought as much online as it was on the streets by all major fronts

Constantly shifting narratives, controversies, positive campaigns and counter campaigns, music videos and online challenge games – the past few weeks of electioneering for the Assembly polls have been as eventful and noisy in the online world as it was offline. It has been a race to grab the eyeballs and the mindspace of the indecisive voter, the ones who can swing the results in at least some constituencies. Owning and sustaining the narrative has been a challenge for all fronts in social media, where trends hardly last a day. Right from the beginning, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) has attempted to ensure that continuity in power and developmental and welfare initiatives of the government would remain a buzzword in all discussions. The United Democratic Front (UDF), meanwhile, focussed its attention on the flurry of allegations raised by Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. They also attempted to harness the popularity of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, promoting his rallies, shop visits, autorickshaw rides and deep-sea diving to garner hits. Both the UDF and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also have attempted to keep ‘faith’ as an issue in the limelight, with constant references to Sabarimala womenn entry issue.