DMK claims to have a monopoly on digital space in social media—but is it enough?

Shilpi Guha, a content manager based in Bangalore, was a little taken aback when she received a phone call that played a recorded voice of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam’s head, Vijayakanth. Before she could find out who it was, her Android app Truecaller identified him as “Waste Fellow”. The app gathers its data by crowdsourcing, which is then run through an algorithm to choose the right name for any given number.

Deputy chief minister O Paneerselvam would know very well about the making and breaking of public image through social media. From being called a “mixture mama” (someone who does no work but eat snacks) during jallikattu protests to be compared to Rajnikanth after he put his foot down against Sasikala taking over as the chief minister—OPS’s online career has seen dramatic ups and downs. With Tamil Nadu having one of the largest populations connected to the Internet, a viral meme has the potential to translate to vote.

This is why the dangers and the influence of social media and the online space assume greater importance in Tamil Nadu. While the spread of fake news is rampant, the Internet also mobilised massive numbers of people offline—for both political and non-political reasons. From mobilising large crowds during 2011’s India Against Corruption movement to bringing justice to Bhadra, the mongrel who was flung off a terrace by a group of medical students, to ensuring food and essentials reached to those stranded during the 2015 floods, to channelising the collective Tamil pride during the jallikattu protests—Tamil Nadu’s social media is quick to respond and react. Narendra Modi’s entry into Tamil Nadu is consistently preempted by the hashtag #GoBackModi as the anger and energy from the digital space has spilled over to the streets several times in the state.

Politicians are aware of this phenomenon here. To steer the narrative, both regional heavy-weights have appointed specialised online campaigners. While the DMK has appointed PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, a former international investment banker holding positions in global companies like Lehman Brothers in New York and Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore, the AIADMK has appointed an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate, Singai G Ramachandran, to head its IT wing.

This fear—or respect—of social media was also seen during the height of the jallikattu protests in 2017, when protestors demanded that a state minister visit them at Marina Beach and ensure that the Supreme Court’s ban on the traditional sport is lifted. The protest was driven by social media, and lakhs gathered on the beach. Citing security reasons, the police finally suggested that a team of protesters meet the fisheries minister, D Jayakumar, at his home. The time was set and the team met the minister well past midnight.

One of the people in the meeting was Chandra Mohan, an activist based in Chennai. Describing what happened, he says, “Not convinced with what Jayakumar was telling us, we made him call the then chief minister O Paneerselvam at 2 am.” Chandra Mohan says this was possible only because TN ministers are very aware of the power and reach of social media in the state. “They knew that anything they say or do will become viral across Tamil Nadu.” Throughout the protests, the online brigade worked 24/7 with pictures, videos and new developments being shared across digital platforms and avatars—including memes, educational videos, and screenshots.

While regional parties in Tamil Nadu continue to invest heavily in brand-making exercises using traditional methods like roadshows, TV advertisements, and door-to-door campaigns, tapping into the online space has become more important than ever before. And this is not just because of higher levels of Internet access but also to counter a few important realities: such as beating the BJP in their online game. This includes fighting fake news against their own party and infiltrating the online energy that is sometimes fiercely apolitical.

“We will not allow for any political party to use our cause for votes. If they really cared, they would have approached us last year,” said Maria Raja Bose Raegan, one of the protestors from Thoothukudi. Fearing more protests and to curb rumours, the state government banned the Internet in the region for five days last year.

The AIADMK and DMK also have to strengthen their campaigning with the loss of their charismatic leaders. The head of the DMK’s IT wing, PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, says this isn’t just the first election without Karunanidhi or Jayalalithaa—it’s the first election with this level of social media penetration. “We are playing a different ball game. The loss of [these] charismatic personalities fundamentally changes the nature of politics.”

To counter this, the party has upped its game. Thiaga Rajan says: “Between 2016 (state Assembly election) and 2019, there has been a paradigm shift in the relevance of online space. There has been a 30 per cent increase in Internet access, with the proportion of highly educated youth increasing. In light of this, the DMK’s strategy also needed a shift. While in 2016, 100 per cent of our budget (earmarked for media) was used in traditional media. In this election, between 25-33 per cent of the budget is used for advertisements on digital media.” He adds that his party has occupied more than 70 per cent of the online space in platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

The DMK’s claims of monopoly might ring true. Last week, the BJP’s Tamil Nadu head of the IT wing told The Times of India: “We approached Google ads and other online media publishers looking for ad space for the final leg of the campaigning, but there was no space available. We were told that no slots were available till April 18.”

In the upcoming elections, some 5.99 crore people will go to vote. Of this, nearly nine lakh will be for the first time. The total number of voters aged between 18 and 19 is 12.12 lakh, according to the Tamil Nadu Election Commission. The AIADMK also realises the reality of young voters. “Between the age group of 18 to 30, there are at least one crore voters. And we are trying to customise our campaigning accordingly,” says Singai G Ramachandran, general secretary of the AIADMK’s IT Wing.

He, however, does not agree about DMK’s monopoly over online spaces. “The online space is not for anyone to monopolise. We started our campaigns much earlier. While we were proactive, the DMK was only reactive.” He says the AIADMK’s campaigns have been tailor-made to the audience they’re targeting. “According to the benefits that a particular vote bank got from AIADMK governance, our ads were targeted. For example, our government gave free cycles and laptops to students. The ads reminded them of these benefits.”