RISE AND ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ELECTIONS: STUDY OF GENERAL ELECTIONS IN INDIA

Author Name: 1 Narinder K. Dogra, 2 Sandeep kaur

Volume: 01 &  Issue:

Country: India

DOI NO.: 08.2020-25662434 DOI Link: http://www.doi-ds.org/doilink/01.2021-23226292/UIJIR

Affiliation:

1. Punjabi University Patiala, Punjab, India

ABSTRACT

Elections in India are alleged to be the biggest festival of democracy. Elections in India are not always fantastic, because due to vast size and population of the country, it becomes the most difficult task for the political parties to engage with voters. It is not easy for the political parties to reach each and every voter physically, but with the arrival of technology and rise of internet, the task of reaching out to masses has been alleviated. This study is set to know how 2019 general elections in India were different from 2014 elections with the climb of social media. The 2019 survey data collected by Lokniti during national election study has been compared with the data collected since 2014 general elections by diverse agencies to understand the usage patterns among the users of social media and its impact on their voting behavior. It has been found that the arrival of various new digital technologies and platforms for public campaigning since the 2014 elections has changed the character of such forms of communication. This paper found that compared to 2014 elections, the number of internet and social media users has grown various in 2019 elections, thus making it the first full-fledged internet elections in India, but its impact is not visible on the voters. An important aspect about the role that social media played in the 2019 elections is the phenomenon of fake news and misinformation.

Key words: Social Media, General Elections, India, facebook, voting behavior.