Bihar elections 2020: A digital presence

The Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to an unfamiliar phrase - the new normal. The rules and regulations of this 'new normal' have engulfed every sphere of society. In such a scenario, how can the elections be spared?

The upcoming Bihar Assembly election is going to be first such event in India after the pandemic. At a time when 'work from home' has become the norm and physical meetings have taken a backseat due to safety concerns, the political campaigns for the Bihar elections have been mainly carried out in the digital arena, with physical rallies few and far between.

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The old open-air stages and loudspeakers, the vociferous jostling crowd in the grounds, the bamboo barricades and the air of a fair have been replaced by the square or rectangular screens, with the leaders sitting in air-conditioned rooms and delivering speeches. The viewers and the party workers watch the speeches on their mobiles and TV screens. The natural charm of the rallies have been replaced by a sense of artificiality and the mela-like atmosphere has given way to a sense of gloom, a hallmark of the Covid-19 times.

The political leaders have to adapt to the changing dynamics of the rallies and the political parties have to find new ways to reach out to the voters. It's certainly a tough task in a country where the presence of the internet is not that pervasive.

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The BJP, the party that revolutionised the political use of social media in India, enjoyed an advantage in the transformed playing field. They hired about 10,000 people who work as office-bearers in the IT department of the party and identified five people at every booth in Bihar who own and are aware of how to use a smartphone efficiently. The party roped in more than 4 lakh people who are working directly with the national IT team and divided them into several WhatsApp groups.

This strengthened its social media use at every Shakti Kendra in Bihar. The BJP's NDA ally the JD(U) has started to make its presence felt on social media since May and its chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had to start from the scratch to learn the use of the digital platforms.

The young leaders like Tejashwi Yadav and Chirag Paswan have adapted to the 'new normal' quickly and have efficiently used social media and other digital spheres to deliver their messages. Tejashwi, the Opposition's chief ministerial candidate, is a prolific Twitter user who regularly posts updates and attacks the government through his tweets. On some occasions, he has also released videos to his supporters.

Have the physical rallies ceased to exist altogether? Not really. Both Nitish Kumar and Chirag Paswan have addressed physical rallies and delivered speeches in front of huge crowds. The events gave tough challenges to the administrations to maintain the Covid-19 guidelines. They probably realised that there's nothing more effective than connecting with the people in person.

Digital politics will be in vogue for some time to come, at least till the advent of an effective Covid-19 vaccine and a significant decrease in the number of cases. There may be a difference of hell and heaven between digital and physical rallies but the politicians' eternal policy of making extravagant promises and criticising the opponents will never change.

Irrespective of the outcome of the Bihar elections, it cannot be deprived of one glory: India, for the first time, saw the complete digitisation of politics.