Elections are thought of as setting the tone and standard for forming governments and carrying out policies. Elections are significant for citizens as well as politicians. Every Indian citizen has an equal voice in forming the government by voting. A political leader’s reputation can be ascertained by following their campaign trail. Political leaders who are successful in elections owe a great deal to
their election campaigns. Political leaders used to interact with the public by various means such as public gatherings, election rallies, hoarding, in-person visits, etc. The 21st century’s technology advancements have rendered this antiquated form of campaigning obsolete. The use of social media in political campaigns is one of the more recent current methods that have been implemented.
Social media is thought to be one of the most effective and quick forms of communication. In the twenty-first century, people use social media more than they do traditional media, such as television, radio, and newspapers. Roughly 90% of political leaders use social media, according to studies on how social media affects political parties. The majority of political figures favour running their campaigns on social media, which is the quickest and most straightforward method. Thus, this article aims to evaluate the distinction between traditional and social media campaigning methods in Indian elections based on secondary sources. The study also compares the Indian general elections of 2014 and 2019 in an effort to evaluate the influence of social media campaigning.

Dr. Ramendra Nath Verma (Research Scholar, Department of Mass Communication (SSMFE), Sharda University, Greater Noida, U.P.)
Dr. Dhruv Sabharwal (Associate Professor Department of Mass Communication (SSMFE), Sharda University, Greater Noida, U.P.)

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