Report on Media Activism and Other Manias: How the English Mass Circulation Indian Press Framed the 2014 Election Campaign

Abstract

This report analyses the role of the English press in framing the 2014 election campaign in the world’s largest democracy. India’s General Election of 2014 was expected to be a different kind of campaign where social media and mobile technology along with mainstream media were going to play a major role in the election campaigns. Already in 2013, social media played a major role in the Delhi assembly campaign which brought the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an alternative and anti-corruption party to power. Most major political parties are developing an online presence, and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook were a pivotal factor in Modi’s decisive election victory. It was far from being the difference between winning and losing, but it was significant nonetheless. Social media is still evolving in unpredictable ways and, not surprisingly, there were other, more important factors at work.Our report examines three interrelated parts of that story. In the first it looks at the way the mainstream media helped frame the 2014 election by buying into narrative which positioned Modi as the Prime Minister to lead India into the 21st century. The press played a critical role in creating a ‘bandwagon effect,’ propelling Modi into India’s highest office. Secondly it examines the growing importance of Facebook and Twitter as communications platforms used for many diverse purposes at election time. Its capacity to mobilize marginalized voters in a country as vast and diverse as India should not be underestimated.Finally, our report looks at the state of Indian democracy. One of its conclusions is that the 2014 election is likely to be a harbinger of things to come in India. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) broke the pre-existing political mould of electioneering. Under the BJP, these techniques were taken to the next level. Political campaigning has become professionalized, is increasingly run by dozens of experts, is financed by corporate India, and has become dependent on U.S.-style ‘on the message’ tactical campaigning. For smaller alternative parties like the AAP, with its anti-corruption message, social media was an important resource to finance its activities in the election. Alternative communications strategies derived from social movements were an essential means of getting their message out to voters and mobilizing their base. Despite the disappointing results for the AAP in 2014, its campaign demonstrated the potential of these strategies for future election battles.