Lok Sabha Elections 2024 | Fans, water bottles, deos: new ways to lure voters

In Vidarbha the election campaign is taking on a new flavour with the infusion of artificial intelligence songs composed for candidates and election merchandise tailored to combat the regionrsquos heat such as handheld fans and deodorant spraysCandidates are pulling out all the stops to engage voters In the past decade the landscape of election merchandise has undergone a significant transformation with traditional methods giving way to digital campaigning platforms Businesses involved in producing election paraphernalia such as banners badges pamphlets Tshirts caps bags cutouts and masks have witnessed a decline in sales compared to the 2019 general electionAn audience member sips from a bottle bearing the PMrsquos image at BJP president J P Naddarsquos meeting at Circus Maidan Gondia on April 12 PicSatej ShindeShyamrao Akulwar owner of a small manufacturing shop in Nagpurs Karve Nagar that specialises in customized flags Tshirts banners and other merchandise noted the reduced demand ldquoThe demand is not as robust as it was in the previous two elections With the advent of online purchasing options customers now have more choices While we still receive orders from local independent candidates they are fewer in number To adapt I am exploring digital sales channelsrdquoKeeping coolThis election cycle has seen the integration of additional items into the campaign merchandise including handheld fans personalised water bottles and pocket deodorant sprays At political rallies and public gatherings in Chandrapur and Nagpur attendees proudly displayed pocket deodorant sprays adorned with images of PM Narendra Modi and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis Similarly water bottles and fans featuring local candidates and party leaders were distributed to rally participantsBJP supporters at PMrsquos rally in Chandrapur PicSatej ShindeDattu Chaudhary a resident of Chandrapur shared his experience ldquoLocal party workers in our area procured these customised deodorant sprays from an online retailer Theyre convenient and have a pleasant scentrdquo He even offered to share one mentioning he had extras to spareSong and danceCandidates are increasingly leveraging personalised songs dedicated to themselves which are played continuously on campaign vehicles traversing their constituency An officebearer from BJP in Chandrapur said ldquoYes we have recorded a few songs from Sudhir Bhau here we play them at the public meetings and on the poll campaign vehicles A catchy song attracts the attention of peoplerdquo Congress candidate from the BhandaraGondia constituency Dr Prashant Padole too has a song dedicated to him appealing voters to choose his party The lyrics of the song go ldquoChali Chali ab chali chali Prashant bhau ki hawa chali Chali Chali ab chali chali Congress ki Hawa chalirdquoAI presenceThe emergence of AIgenerated content presents new challenges for Indiarsquos voters in the 2024 elections Political parties leaders and candidates are using AI tools to target voters by analysing extensive datasets including population demographics social media engagement and online behaviour These insights form the basis for delivering personalised content advertisements and messages tailored to resonate with the unique interests and concerns of votersThe 2024 Lok Sabha elections are witnessing the widespread adoption of AI across the country with the BJP emerging as a leader in embracing cuttingedge technology compared to other political parties In preparation for the elections the BJP has utilised AI to translate Prime Minister Modirsquos speeches into eight different languages aiming to expand his outreach across diverse linguistic communities