Chronicles of a campaign foretold: electioneering in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections

Journal article

This paper explores the dynamics of political campaigning in the 2024 Indian General Elections, a pivotal moment that represents both continuity and evolution in electioneering practices in India. Drawing upon longitudinal survey data collected by Lokniti-CSDS, it examines the shifting patterns of voters’ exposure to diverse sources of campaign communication and political information. Despite appearances of a lacklustre campaign, the 2024 election marks the maturation of a more professionalized campaigning trend ascendant in India over the last decade. This mode of election campaigns, which first became visible in the run-up to 2014 general elections, is centred on an axis defined by both new content and a new style. Religious polarisation has routinized hate speech to the extent of it appearing banal and taken for granted. This development runs parallel to the BJP’s ideological dominance and its central position within a new party system. Digital media toolkits and professional campaign strategists, once novel, have become entrenched features of political campaigns. This paper shows that the rise of specialized campaign professionals necessitates a new research agenda for scholars of Indian politics, one that captures the nuanced, and often hidden, mechanisms by which campaign professionals shape democratic processes and voter engagement within a complex media ecosystem.

Authors: Sharma, AD

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Policy Studies Organization
• Journal: Indian Politics & Policy
• Volume: 5
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 145-159
• Publication date: 2025-07-25
• Acceptance date: 2025-05-26
• DOI: 10.18278/inpp.5.1.7
• EISSN: 2573-8054
• Language: English
• Keywords: Indian parliamentary elections 2024; election campaigns; political communication; campaign professionalization; campaign effects; Indian politics