The role of new media in political campaigns: A case study of social media campaigning for the 2019 general elections

Democracy is the best form of governance. We have tried other forms and concluded that, there may be some flaws but compared to the rest, democracy triumphs. Political process is part and parcel of democracy. Political parties compete with one another through ideology and vision for the people and the country. People evaluate the parties and their programmes and vote for the candidate they think will deliver good governance to them. Whenever their hopes are dashed, they wait to change the government through the ballot. In all of this, media plays a vital role. It not only informs but provides a forum for debate and discussion for the masses on important issues. Media has been credited with the power to influence enough people to bring about change in government. Today, new media or digital media has revolutionized the way we communicate. User-generated content in the form of text, photos, videos and podcast has put the power in the hands of ordinary people. Social media is a ubiquitous means of sharing content by many to many. Political parties are now using Facebook and Twitter to reach and influence voters. Voters on the other hand are not passive but use the social media to inform, comment and forward messages that has the potential to reach millions. The campaign for the April-May 2019 Indian Parliamentary elections will see an increase in the use of social media tools like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. Social media cells of major political parties are gearing up for social media war that will decide the fate of many urban seats in the General Elections. This study examines the social media campaign of the three major political parties in the Karnataka context. BJP has an edge due to the early start, but both Congress and JD(S) are catching up. BJP is on the back foot as it is the ruling party and Congress for a change has the advantage to win the perception battle.