Thanks to the advent of social media, elections have become an at once hilarious and frightening process in India. To be honest, elections in India were always that way, but social media has helped make this all the more evident. This is because the elections and the events leading up to it are a competition for a power as old as humanity itself.

With the rise of the meme culture around the world, political parties have understood that the days when heartfelt and powerful messages and video blogs struck a chord with the people are long gone.

Today, memes are what perfectly capture the mood of the zeitgeist. Like an army hovering at our screens, memes are relatable, make us laugh out loud, and creatively express the maker’s point of view. Memes have become so powerful that it won’t be surprising if they can actually help fetch votes during elections.

If you are active on Twitter and follow Indian politicians on the platform, then you must have come across memes that are being used by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to reach out to the youth by making them laugh.

Following these memes, reading the comments, and watching the exchange of political parties mocking each other is as entertaining as watching a movie.

Episode I: The Rise Of The Kejri-Wall

Recently, Twitter took a hilarious turn, when AAP shared a video after re-imagining a famous advertisement of Ambuja Cement. In case you don’t remember this ad, it featured Boman Irani in the role of two estranged brothers who are dying to break the wall that stands between their families. Since that wall was made of Ambuja Cement, it was unbreakable.

AAP has very cleverly used this ad to show that the party is just as strong as Ambuja Cement under the leadership of Mr. Arvind Kejriwal all while mocking both the BJP and the INC. Talk about shooting two birds with one meme!

Needless to say, people have also loved this video.

https://twitter.com/imehrashubham/status/1215181586997686272

https://twitter.com/SahilBulla/status/1215288730321219584

https://twitter.com/AektaKapoor/status/1215522753001902082

https://twitter.com/beingAAPian/status/1215117142745444352

A senior member of AAP’s IT Team, Ankit Lal had said, “Such is the impact of humour, which not only works well with audiences, but is also an active and third component of the AAP’s social media plan ahead of elections.”

Also Read: Researchers Use New Tools To Make Memes Accessible To The Visually Impaired

“The Ambuja cement idea was conceptualised by three people from Delhi team, and one of them is a Mass Communication student from Maharashtra, who’s come to help us here,” Mr. Lal explained.

Apart from memes, AAP has also been using ‘1X1 video snippets’. These are snippets from Mr. Kejriwal’s speeches that go viral as soon as they go live on Twitter.

Mr. Lal has said that the importance of door-to-door campaigning in spreading awareness about the party’s work in sectors of education, health, electricity, and transport cannot be exaggerated. But, it is social media that helps in keeping these conversations alive.

“The BJP tries to impose national issues in state elections. That’s what they did in Maharashtra and Jharkhand. We are not actively focusing on CAA but if there’s any query, we’ll be happy to address that,” he further added.

Episode II: BJP And Congress Strike Back

Soon after AAP put out the video, BJP and Congress came up with their response.

Congress tried to draw a self-portrait as a “Jumla Free” and “Hypocrisy free” party.

For the BJP, as always it was either the nationalist way or the highway.

https://twitter.com/BJP4Delhi/status/1215257586796122112

AAP has also responded to both the INC and the BJP:

Episode III: The Revenge Of The People

With the Delhi elections right around the corner, it is the people who will get to decide who they deem worthy of serving the state.

India is going through a very chaotic time right now, and as citizens of this country, it is our duty to break the wall of hatred and come together to vote for a leadership that can actually help us establish the spirit of camaraderie that is sorely lacking in these tough times.

Electing the right leadership is the biggest form of dissent and protest there is. Keeping in mind the turmoil that you are seeing all around the country, make your decision, and go ahead and vote. Hopefully, this movie will have a happy (and harmonious) ending.

Image Sources: Google Images

Sources: Business Standard, The Guardian, The Print + more

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