TVK’s social media game in Tamil Nadu and anti-SIR debate | South Central 76
In this episode of South Central, hosts Pooja Prasanna and Anisha Sheth first discuss the unprecedented use of social media in Tamil Nadu by Vijay’s TVK and whether it has reshaped politics in the state. They are joined by journalist and translator Kavitha Muralidharan and TNM’s Associate Editor Nandini Chandrasekhar.
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Pooja starts the discussion by asking Kavitha if she feels TVK has changed the governance game with their use of social media.
“The government is active on social media; this has been reported by channels as well. People do take videos from the CM’s meeting to post on social media and so on. This is new, and whether TVK is going to allow this to happen is one thing we must wait and see. Governance cannot be treated as a film where you give punchlines and then go. Vijay must make his cadres understand that this is not how governance really works,” says Kavitha.
Pooja points out how this has been happening since the pre-election campaigns. “We saw several kinds of misinformation about ministers’ qualifications. Anyone who questions them online also faces ire,” she adds.
“A hugely popular TVK page said Keerthana was the first woman minister of Tamil Nadu. They kept praising her, and not many comments were countering this lie. I am worried about the lack of knowledge of those who share and comment on social media. The trolls have been there by the IT wings of other parties, but I think TVK will take it to the next level,” Kavitha explains.
Pooja notes that other states, such as Karnataka, which have higher internet penetration in rural areas, do not see as much use of social media by parties for governance and perception building.
Nandini adds that the barrage of information manipulates the truth. “In Karnataka, even in the last elections, it was not this heightened, the use of social media. Even if parties want it, they go to a consultant and have it managed. But TVK used their own fan clubs and warriors who made reels and content, and the veracity of these claims is too hard to establish. It also feeds the algorithm, replicating their narrative,” she says.
She also says Vijay has leverage because of his fandom.
Anisha points out how several parties across states are waking up to the potential of social media. “In Kerala, for example, the Congress used it quite well. But in Karnataka, they are still waking up to it. The BJP has been deploying it for years now, and we have seen how this content has bombarded us. While the BJP’s content is centralised and co-ordinated by the IT cell, in the form of a parallel governance machinery, TVK is more haphazard,” she says.
The panel further discusses the CPM’s Kerala campaign centring on Pinarayi Vijayan, and how several parties are now picking up. The discussion also goes into Vijay’s fandom, which in itself gives him an upper hand to create his own narrative, vis-à-vis Narendra Modi, who had to build that leverage and perception.
In the second part of the episode, the hosts discuss the SIR process in Karnataka, which has faced considerable resistance. They are joined by activist and journalist Shivasundar.
“Whether the state government has any Constitutional power to intervene is the issue. There has been a continuous betrayal of promises, even within their legislative promises. The very politics of the Congress will not allow it to intervene,” says Shivasundar.
Pooja points out that the parties opposing SIR also could bring in electoral loss. “It gets closely tied to electoral wins rather than people’s problems. In WB, those excluded are now facing a citizenship crisis. Is that a fear in Karnataka?” she asks.
Anisha says that this is a possible concern for many. “Among large sections of the vulnerable population, who may be left out for lack of documents, the logic of SIR is missing. The fear is definitely if this is going to affect people’s everyday lives,” she adds.
“The Chief Electoral Officer has spoken about 59000 booths in Karnataka, and asked all parties to provide BLOs to all. But this has not been fulfilled by several parties. The question of citizenship is also crucial. SIR is being used to examine the citizenship status of people. So if you do not have citizenship, naturally, the logical consequence is losing state benefits and disenfranchisement. That is why this whole process should be scrapped,” Shivasundar says.
The panel further discusses the resistance in Karnataka, the anxieties about SIR that have been playing out among voters, and the ruling government’s stand on it.
Tune in to this discussion here.
Audio timecodes
00:00:00 - Introduction
00:02:06 - Headlines
00:10:02 - TVK social media game
00:49:43 - Anti SIR debate
1:14:06 - Recommendations
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