As the Delhi elections heat up, political parties are no longer just battling it out on the streets—they’re taking the fight to Instagram reels. With February 5 as the decisive date, the race to win the capital has seen an unprecedented use of AI, deepfake edits, and pop culture-inspired campaigns to capture the attention of the youth.
Delhi boasts 25.89 lakh young voters aged 20-29, as per the Election Commission of India, making it a crucial demographic. These voters spend hours scrolling through reels, binge-watch shows, and get every pop culture reference. One of the most popular shows among this generation is India’s Got Latent, hosted by comedian Samay Raina. With 12 episodes released so far, the show has captured the attention of young audiences, each episode amassing over 20 million views.
Recognising the show’s popularity, BJP Delhi has rolled out its satirical animated series, Delhi’s Got Latent. In this parody, an animated avatar of Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, becomes a contestant:
As a contestant on the show, he delivers the lines: "Main Delhi ko London Paris bana dunga, saaf hawa paani ke liye tarsa dunga. Gaali gaali mein paani aur koode bhar dunga, sharab ki ek bottle par ek free kara dunga!"
Animated Samay Raina responds with a smirk, "Aap kabhi serious ho paate ho?" to which the animated Kejriwal quips, "Ki koshish karta hoon main, par log nahi lete."This dialogue is voiced by India’s Got Latent breakout star Naman Arora.
From Delhi Avengers to Bahane Nahi, Badlav Chahiye, political campaigns have adopted Bollywood-style drama, Avengers-esque storytelling, and upbeat music to resonate with younger audiences. With AI and pop culture as their weapons, this election feels less like politics and more like a binge-worthy series. Only time will tell if this reel-to-real strategy will translate to votes or not.