The New Age of Election Campaigning: Influencers X Politicians!

What happens when social media stars shake hands with traditional political campaigns? The answer is simple: it’s the rise of a new influence style. The advancement of social media channels and the shift in content consumption behaviours laid a new, modern type of election campaigning for a few years. Recently, fitness influencers Rohit Dalal and Akshay Dilawari, along with a group of 70-80 sportspersons, including wrestlers and bodybuilders, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections 2025. This grand gathering at the AAP headquarters wasn’t just another press event but a sign of how influencers can take their social reach beyond content and Instagram feeds into the political arena.

The Power in Politics

Dalal and Dilawari aren’t just influencers; they’ve also represented India on international sports and wrestling platforms. Their decision to support AAP forms from their admiration towards the party’s initiatives, such as free yoga classes and its support for gymnasiums and sports infrastructure.

Rohit Dalal commented, “The work done for sportspersons and gyms is commendable. I want to contribute to this mission.” These fitness influencers have brought their weight, quite literally, to AAP. The party promised to tackle the issues faced by athletes, gym owners, and fitness influencers in the real world.

How Politics Met the Gram?

Politicians have used social media platforms to connect with voters, especially during election campaigns. To reach more people, they work with influencers with considerable followers. Once elections approach, the demand for influencers increases as they are a powerful way to reach voters. Influencers capture hearts on social media, and politicians aim to influence the electoral mindset of viewers. Looking at Dalal and Dilawari don’t assume it’s the first time influencers have entered politics.

A couple of years before political parties realised influencers could bridge the gap between leaders and the public, making politics more relatable. Influencers can amplify campaign messages to millions of followers, particularly to the new Gen youth, who form a significant chunk of voters in 2025.

The Double-Edged Influence: One side flowers, and the other sinks into thorns!

Influencers in politics are growing, and we need to understand this trend in depth! Influencers hold power as they can shape opinions and create narratives to bring awareness and fresh political perspectives, but only when used responsibly.

However, not all influencers are the same. Some use their platforms for self-promotion or fail to grasp the depth of political issues, which can lead to misguided campaigns. Reelstars spoke to a few local influencers whom political parties and candidates have approached for promotions.

Even an II standard kid knows elections mean expenditure and candidates spend large amounts of money, sometimes in lakhs, just for social media promotions. Politicians are not just posting regular ads; they are also using targeted strategies. With many advantages of social media algorithms, they promote their posts to reach specific groups of voters, like those living in a certain area, people of a particular age, or even specific genders. The blind who follow influencers’ commands can also worship candidates which may overshadow genuine policy discussions.

Money Spirit: You can earn, too!

Influencers with higher followers are in demand during elections. An influencer with over 200K Instagram followers revealed that multiple parties had contacted him with 20 propositions. At such times, influencers can charge heavily for promotions. Let me brief you on the costs, sharing a single Instagram story, which disappears after 24 hours, costs between INR 5,000 and INR 10,000. If the post is permanent, the rates increase to INR 20,000 or more. Videos, especially one-minute reels, are the most expensive, costing parties around INR 40,000 to INR 50,000.

What’s More?

Influencers are available in many niches, like food, travel, fashion, and news. This range allows political campaign managers to choose influencers that fit their needs. With the Delhi elections nearing, AAP has already announced its candidates, while its primary opponent, BJP, has yet to do so. The stakes are high, and many collaborations happen through agencies that act as middlemen. These agencies offer packages that include influencers of different follower levels, like mega, medium, micro, and nano.

One insider revealed that agencies often take a large portion of the money for themselves and pay less to the influencers. Even though working with politicians is profitable, some influencers are cautious.

Why? One influencer said posting too much political content could make their page look political, which might upset their regular followers. They explained that it’s essential to think about what their audience wants and not just the money influencers are after. This actually makes sense, too. Page quality and authenticity are a must and by sharing too many political posts, they can lose followers who might not like such content.

Social media is a key part of election campaigns today, and influencers play a big role in helping politicians connect with voters. This will reach another level in 2025. However, influencers must balance the opportunities and plan content within their viewers’ expectations.

The Last Round of Counting!

This shift affirms that politics is no longer just about rallies and speeches; it’s about connecting with people wherever they are through a smartphone screen.

However, this transformation also needs caution. As voters, we must evaluate the idealogy behind the glamour. Are these influencers promoting genuine change or merely adding to the campaign noise? The answer lies purely in the content and candidate.

Politics is like influencing, it is about consistency, dedication, and results. But, would you trust a reel to decide your vote? Think and vote for a better, safer, wiser and more digitally driven India.

Read more on Elections Focus On Digital India For Votes Here!