Changing spectrum: From bullock carts to ‘mouse’, public connect witnesses a sea change

LUCKNOW: Circa 1967, the late chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Kalyan Singh, contested elections for the first time on a Bharatiya Jana Sangh ticket from the Atarauli assembly seat. Kalyan Singh campaigned village to village on a bicycle with posters hanging on it. He was accompanied by supporters who cycled alongside him, and even bullock carts were used for campaigning. Kalyan Singh emerged as a winner too.

From intimate door-to-door public interactions to grandiose mass rallies, and from bullock carts, cycles, and the most ramshackle jeeps to grand roadshows comprising luxury vehicles, the political campaigning and tools employed by candidates for canvassing have undergone a sea change in today’s technology-driven era.

In the early years following Independence, political campaigns relied heavily on grassroots mobilisation and personal connections. Candidates would traverse villages, mohallas, and streets in cities, meeting constituents face-to-face, distributing party caps, banners, flags, clipboards, etc., to them, and addressing their concerns directly.

Public rallies and meetings by senior politicians, characterised by fiery speeches but avoiding below-the-belt remarks against rivals, were the cornerstone of electioneering, drawing crowds and galvanising support.

The advent of the internet and social media in the 21st century is believed to have ushered in a new era of campaigning. Political parties embraced digital platforms as indispensable tools for reaching voters.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, X, and WhatsApp became battlegrounds for political discourse, with parties deploying targeted messaging, viral content, online campaigns, etc., to sway public opinion.

A former minister and Congress party veteran, Satya Dev Tripathi, said that politics had changed, and so had the tools of campaigning. “Earlier, candidates and their supporters used to go from village to village, street to street in cities, meeting voters personally. Local corner meetings were also organised in cities to energise voters. But all this is not often seen these days,” he said.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader Rajendra Chaudhary, recalled how prominent leaders of that time, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chaudhary Charan Singh, addressed corner meetings in his favour. He himself engaged in door-to-door campaigning while contesting from a Ghaziabad assembly seat as a Janata Dal candidate in the 1970s.

“Corner rallies by senior leaders and door-to-door public contact were the norm and the most effective methods of canvassing then and the advent of TV and later the onslaught of digital and social media platforms have totally transformed the tools of election campaigns in the state and the country,” he said.

“The door-to-door campaigning was a two-way communication in which voters were able to air their grievances and concerns to candidates, and candidates could make their point face-to-face,” he pointed out.

“What is happening now is that candidates are relying on choreographed mass rallies and road shows, bulk mobile messages, advertising, etc., trying to impose their views on voters without knowing their views,” he added.

However, amidst the proliferation of digital campaigning, traditional methods have not been entirely eclipsed. Door-to-door canvassing, street corner meetings, and local-level networking remain integral to winning elections, especially in rural areas.

Political scientist Shashi Kant Pandey said that there was no doubt the digital era had transformed the ways of canvassing, but the traditional methods were still employed by some candidates in rural areas, though not as commonly.

“It is true that door-to-door canvassing and corner rallies have ceased to exist as tools of election campaigning in cities,” he admitted.

Another political scientist, Sanjiv Kumar Sharma, said that campaigning needed to be personal to be effective. “Poll campaigns are now predominantly digital, cut off from personal touch with the voters, and hence are not that effective in influencing voters’ choices,” he opined.

The Anna Hazare movement against corruption in 2013 amply demonstrated the power of social media. The BJP under Narendra Modi was perhaps the first political party to acknowledge the power of digital tools and employ them to its advantage. Later, all other political parties also adapted themselves to the changing needs of reaching out to more people digitally and through mass rallies and road shows in less time.