Election is the most fundamental feature of a democratic nation. Advertisements, on the other hand, are the real game-changer in elections. In every democracy, election advertisements reveal the priorities candidates emphasise when seeking public support.
Political advertisements typically refer to materials intended or likely to influence voting in an upcoming election. They can also be a tool for persuasion.
In Assam, the evolution of campaign advertising reflects broader changes in political communication. Previously, electoral messages were largely focused on development, governance reforms, infrastructure building, and policy commitments.
Over time, however, advertisement narratives have increasingly incorporated emotional appeals centered on identity, security, and interpretations of historical events.
While identity politics has long been a characteristic of Assam’s electoral landscape, its expression in recent advertising appears more intentional and amplified on modern media platforms.
This transformation calls for a closer examination of how changing political narratives shape voter perception and influence the nature of democratic discourse within the state.
The influence of advertisements and media can be better understood by the Propaganda Model proposed by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman in their book Manufacturing Consent, which suggests that advertisements serve as a system to influence the general masses with values and beliefs that integrate them into the existing power structure.
The Propaganda Model argues that news portrayed by the media is a byproduct of five systematic filters—Ownership, Advertising, Sourcing, Flak, and Ideological Fear—which work to ensure that only information favorable to the prevailing power structure reaches the public.
Today, media houses are owned and funded by big corporates and political parties. For media houses to remain viable, they rely heavily on massive ads and in no way wish to go against their sponsors, which provides these entities with inevitable power to show what they want in the form of ‘news’ and ‘advertisements’.
Chomsky and Herman highlighted that, instead of using physical force, dominant perspectives shaped by prevailing forces are subtly put into the minds of people through manipulation.
In this context, election advertisements can also be understood by integrating Antonio Gramsci’s theory of Cultural Hegemony. Election advertisements do not just sell a candidate but produce consent among people by framing the candidate’s or the party’s ideologies and beliefs as common sense.
By using specific language, music, critiquing previous governments, and now AI-curated videos, ads allow viewers to believe in one specific truth—i.e., the one constructed by the prevailing power structures—and how they should vote accordingly.
The advertisements shown especially before elections have the power to change people’s mindsets, alter beliefs, and influence voting behavior on a mass scale.
Crafting Narratives through Public Relations
During elections, the PR industry reaches its zenith as it plays the most important role in election campaigns and advertisements. PR teams do not just support campaigns but act as strategic reputation builders and real-time narrative controllers to manufacture narratives.
Currently, PR has played a very crucial role in curating narratives through different social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter (now X), YouTube, WhatsApp, and others.
PR teams have not only limited themselves to social media but have expanded to music apps such as Spotify and JioSaavn, where political advertisements are displayed extensively.
PR teams are hired on a massive basis by political parties and leaders to portray their leadership, ideologies, values, upcoming manifestos, and to vehemently critique the opposition.
This is done through ads and by paying huge sums of money to creators and influencers on social media who make videos and reels either in favor of political parties or against them.
When these videos are highly circulated by PR teams through strategies that prioritise authenticity, a data-backed approach, and algorithmic performance, the information generated is subtly infused into the minds of viewers, leading them to believe that particular information to be the ultimate truth. More engagement equals more manipulation.
Over the last two decades, election advertisements have undergone a significant change, becoming increasingly relevant in shaping political narratives in Assam. Unlike the past, where physical campaigning and party lineage dominated, today’s digital landscape has brought ads to the forefront.
Earlier in Assam, much focus was given to how many people participated in rallies, creating catchy slogans, and visiting places to make people aware of parties’ achievements and policies, but nowadays lakhs of money are spent on PR teams by different political parties.
These advertisements are crafted so tactfully that they resonate with people’s identities, fears, ideologies, and values, and even have the utmost power to alter them as well.
Personalisation of State Welfare Schemes
In Assam’s political discussions, welfare programs are often framed as personal favors from politicians, not as the state’s welfare schemes. Publicly funded benefits are frequently called gifts from politicians instead of what citizens are owed. We often hear things like “this politician gave money,” or “that politician gave ration.”
Government programs or food aid are linked to the politician’s personal generosity. This way of speaking shows how welfare gets personalised, making taxpayer-funded policies seem like favors from a politician. So, the line between public rights and political favors gets blurry.
The state as an institution fades, and the political leader becomes the main focus. At the same time, these welfare programs are becoming more and more about political promotion.
Schemes provided by the government, like posters and media campaigns, often show the leader’s face and messages along with different projects.
By constantly promoting them, each welfare program not only helps people but also makes the leadership’s political identity stronger. So, welfare programs do two things: they provide social help and also act as a strong tool for political visibility and advertising.
Looking Beyond the Narratives of Political Advertisement
The way election ads are changing in Assam shows how political messages are carefully made to sway what people think and how they vote. While these tactics are part of how democracy works, it’s important for us to stay politically aware and really think about the underlying messages we receive.
We should be politically aware, and this can be done by reading independent articles, listening to different opinions, and trying to understand things from all sides without being biased.
While good things done by parties should be appreciated, one must also simultaneously maintain a critical view, allowing scrutiny and evaluation of their policies and actions.
A strong democracy isn’t just about political messages but also about voters who are informed and thoughtful. When we look beyond our own political beliefs and consider other viewpoints, we’re more likely to make responsible and informed decisions when it’s time to vote.
Also Read: 101 greens of Bohag Bihu and the women who keep them alive
You just read a story that took days to report. Help us keep our reporters on the ground in the Northeast.
Ad-free reading, support and keep important stories alive
Support once (any amount)
Scan to pay via UPI