THE CHANGING NATURE OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS IN INDIA: DIGITAL POLITICS, MISINFORMATION AND CHALLENGES TO DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

Abstract

Purpose: Digital political communication has become an important component of contemporary election campaigns in India. The purpose of this study is to examine the changing nature of political campaigns with particular focus on social media use, political misinformation, AI-generated/deepfake content and their perceived implications for democratic governance.Methodology: The study adopts a quantitative research approach with a descriptive research design. Primary data were collected from 218 respondents in Jhansi City, Uttar Pradesh, using a structured questionnaire and convenience sampling. Perception-based statements were measured using a five-point Likert scale. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, mean, standard deviation and mode.Results: The results indicate that the respondents have a positive viewpoint regarding digital political campaigns, with a mean score of 3.99. The responses have pointed out the impact of social media on direct communication with voters, especially with young voters. The issue of political misinformation was also highlighted, with the mean score coming out to be 4.10. Among all the items related to misinformation, AI-generated material received the highest score of 4.18. In addition, there was strong agreement by the respondents regarding the implementation of the measures like voter’s education, responsible behaviour of political parties together with full transparency in political advertising, more responsibility from the platforms, and fact-checking, which received a mean score of 4.19.Originality/Value: This paper presents empirical evidence at the local level from Jhansi City on how digital political campaigning is evolving and the perceptions of political misinformation and artificial intelligence content among respondents. It brings out the significance of ethical digital political communication, voter education, fact checking and collaborative efforts for improvement of political information in the digital space.