An Analysis of Financial Frameworks Underpinning the Political Digital Outreach
In the age of digital dominance, political parties worldwide are increasingly turning to online platforms to spread their messages and sway public opinion. India, with its vast electorate and diverse political landscape, is no exception. Let's delve into the intriguing world of political advertising examining the strategies and spending patterns of key players in the Indian political arena.
India's Political Spending on Google Ads
In this digital age, the battleground of political advertising in India has shifted significantly, with platforms like Google and YouTube becoming crucial arenas for campaigns.
Between May 31, 2018, and April 25, 2024, political parties have invested substantial sums to engage with voters nationwide. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leads the pack, spending an impressive Rs. 106 Crore on 1,67,543 ads, dominating the digital space with over 73% of total political advertisements on Google. Following closely, the Indian National Congress (INC) stands as the second-largest spender, investing Rs. 53 crore on 6,198 Google ads, according to data from the Google Ad Transparency Center. Additionally, regional players like Tamil Nadu's Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have also made significant strides, allocating Rs. 25 crore to Google ads, showcasing a targeted approach that extends beyond their home state including Karnataka and Kerala. This digital surge underscores the evolving landscape of political communication and outreach in India showcasing a furious competition between political stakeholders to maximise their reach to their potential voter groups.
Digital Ads expenditure of political parties in Lok Sabha 2024
With Lok Sabha Elections 2024 nearing its 3rd phase of voting, political parties are on their feet encapsulating and trying to reach their potential voters through online platforms and advertising. This election season serves as a battleground for political parties vying for power and influence. Against this backdrop, digital advertising emerges as a critical tool for reaching voters and shaping public opinion. Let us try and understand the spending patterns and strategies employed by political parties in the first two phases of the election.
During the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls, political parties collectively spent over Rs 36.5 crore on digital advertising, with the BJP leading the pack with an expenditure of Rs 14.7 crore. The Congress and DMK closely follow suit, with Rs 12.3 crore and Rs 12.1 crore spent between March 15 and April 13, according to an analysis of data from Google Ads Transparency Centre and the Meta Ad Library Report.
During the campaigning for the second phase of Lok Sabha elections, political parties spent at least Rs. 14.7 crore on promoting their manifesto, policies, and achievements on Google Ads alone. With Rs 5.7 crore, Congress topped the ad expenditure on Google between April 18 and April 24, closely followed by the BJP at Rs 5.3 crore.
Comparing the Two Rivals: BJP vs INC
A detailed analysis reveals that the BJP outpaces the Congress in terms of both expenditure and reach on Google and YouTube. The BJP's targeted campaigns, particularly in states like Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, contribute to its dominance in the digital advertising landscape. In contrast, the Congress struggles to match the BJP's digital prowess, allocating fewer resources to online advertising campaigns.
Between May 31, 2018, and April 25, 2024, BJP, the ruling party in India, has spent over Rs. 390 crore on advertisements categorised as political on Google, which amounts to approximately 26% of the total spending on political ads on the platform. The party has published over 1,61,000 political ads during this period, most of which targeted the residents of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Meanwhile, with Rs 45 crore, the grand old party stands second in terms of political spending on Google Ads and Google Display & Video 360, according to the transparency centre data publishing over 6,198 online advertisements during this period, just 3.7% of the BJP's ads primarily focused on Karnataka, Telangana (over Rs 9.6 crore spending each) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 6.3 crore).
Breach of Model Code of Conduct: Advertising During the Silence Period by Political Parties
Silence period is used by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to describe a 48-hour period during which political parties and candidates are not allowed to campaign. Under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, all election campaigning including social media campaigning stops during this period that concludes with the end of voting. According to LokNiti CSDS Survey in the first phase, it was found that BJP posted 60,500 ads from April 17 to 19, 2024 (Silence period of 1st Phase) on Google and 6,808 on Meta platforms, while the Congress posted 1,882 and 114 ads respectively during the same period. During the second phase 13,962 Google ads were released by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meanwhile 2,063 Google ads were released by Indian National Congress (INC) during the silence period violating the Model Code of Conduct. Political parties have been geotargeting the constituencies going to polls with their constituency specific content and data, for instance, BJP strategically focused on the Nagina constituency in Uttar Pradesh, acknowledging the historical electoral influence of the Muslim-Scheduled Caste (SC) coalition in securing victories.
Impact of Political Ads on Voting Behaviour
Political advertising is regarded as a useful source of information to masses. Research on political advertising in the past has shown that candidate image ratings can improve after viewing ads as political advertising is one of the ways candidates can shape their image. Studies also found some relevance in using political advertising as an image building source which the Bharatiya Janata Party uses to advertise Prime Minister Narendra Modi as their prime face and using slogans like Modi Ki Guarantee, Modi hai to Mumkin hai, Abki baar Modi Sarkaar etc.
Experts explain that the utilisation of cookies on the internet enables any data mining organisation to construct a user profile, encompassing what a person views online, their preferences, frequently visited locations, shopping habits, as well as the timing and duration of their online activities. These data points are then leveraged by political parties to send tailor-made messages to potential voters. Hence, there's a systematic approach to the political blitzkrieg, ranging from understanding what is trending to improving engagement online.
According to the book “The Online Effect” by Sanjeev Singh, online social media campaigning gets converted into votes when there is a considerable amount of engagement which means a two way communication between the party or the leader and the voter. He says in his book that the level of engagement is directly proportional to the voting decision made by the voter. Hence it can be concluded from various research and studies that political advertising does influence the voting behaviour and pattern given the condition that it is engaging, personalised and entertaining.
What Lies Ahead?
In the age of this digital democracy, the power of political influence lies in the pixels they project, not just the posters they put up and as the country approaches the third phase of the Lok Sabha election, it finds itself being a mere spectator to the content churned out by political parties and absorbed by voters generating a profound psycho-social influence on voting behaviour. As these parties fine-tune their digital strategies, the race for online dominance is set to intensify in the upcoming phases, culminating in results on June 4th, 2024.