In the run-up to the Delhi Assembly elections, videos became a key tool for both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to influence voters. Both parties shared short clips, speeches, and voiceovers that showcased their achievements and criticized their opponents. Social media was flooded with campaign videos, highlights from rallies, and targeted messages to reach voters directly.
On Monday, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal announced that his party was giving out spy cameras and body cameras in slum areas. This was to record any wrongdoing or election cheating allegedly done by the BJP and its supporters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi even mentioned video content in a speech, urging his party workers to share videos of flats built by the Central government for slum residents. He wanted to use these videos to encourage other slum dwellers that they could also receive similar housing.
The BJP also made videos that featured edited clips with voices that sounded like Kejriwal and AAP leader Atishi. One of these clips used a scene from the movie Jolly LLB, where a character asks about payments made to religious leaders and the reply was “For votes.”
AAP used old videos of their candidate Ramesh Bidhuri and New Delhi’s candidate Parvesh Verma. These videos showed them acting badly or making controversial statements to make them look bad. AAP also released videos claiming that BJP members were breaking election rules and trying to attack AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal.
In return, the BJP released old videos of Kejriwal and other AAP leaders. They claimed these videos showed AAP questioning the building of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Videos that circulated showed Kejriwal talking about preferring IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) over temples. Other clips showed AAP leaders supporting protests at Shaheen Bagh and making controversial statements about Hindu gods, which the BJP used to claim AAP was anti-Hindu.
As the elections neared their end, both parties released videos accusing each other of unfair election tactics. The BJP aired a sting operation that took aim at an AAP member, claiming he took money to introduce robotics kits in Delhi government schools. In response, AAP shared videos accusing the BJP of giving shawls and cash to voters in Rajendra Nagar. The videos even showed residents rejecting these alleged bribes by burning the BJP’s shawls.
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