Innovations in Political Communication Strategies of Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014 General Elections: A Perception Study of Jaipur Voters

Abstract

Gone are the days when dissemination of mass messages was done only through a few conventional media like Radio, Television and Print. The present time seems to be the Digital Era, where one can find innumerable Below the Line Marketing Tools to reach out to the masses in a more influential manner. Politicians too cannot remain aloof from the present wave of new Communication Strategies. It seems like the dawn of new political communication tools and strategies have emerged as the strongest means of Political Branding. The study examines the various new media tools and strategies employed by the Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP) chiefly by Mr. Narendra Modi for dissemination of political messages during 2014 General Lok Sabha Elections in India and whether they were instrumental behind changing the mindset of the young Indian voters. A survey of Jaipur based voters of the age group of 20–30 was done to collect primary data on their perception about the impact of new political communication strategies being employed by political parties and how far have they been able to influence the voting decision of the masses. Besides Survey Method, the research also makes a Case Study of the different Political Communication Strategies adopted by the BJP in 2014 General Lok Sabha Elections. The findings of the research were highly exploratory in the direction of revealing the fact that young voters mostly followed political parties and candidates on various new media, specially Social Media platforms and they were highly influenced by the advertisements and various two-way exchange of political messages on Social Media rather than on any other media channel.