Posted on by Pihu Yadav

Lok Sabha Election 2024: How Indian political parties are leveraging AI

Both the DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu are utilising artificial intelligence (AI) to resurrect iconic political figures from the past. M. Karunanidhi, who passed away in 2018, made a virtual appearance at an event in January via AI projection, marking the third such instance in recent months for the DMK.
Similarly, the AIADMK has digitally resurrected former leaders like MGR and Jayalalitha, leveraging AI-generated interventions to capitalise on their enduring popularity. This extends to political messaging as well, with the AIADMK sharing a voice message from Jayalalitha urging support for its current leader, Edappadi Palaniswami.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) has utilised AI to give voice to former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who is currently unwell. Through AI, CPI(M) created a virtual Bhattacharjee, who criticised the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on various issues via social media. Despite minor differences from the authentic Bhattacharjee, the AI closely resembles his voice, achieved through a 10-day training process. CPI(M) managed the initiative internally, with Bhattacharjee’s family’s support.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has introduced an AI anchor named ‘Vaibhavi,’ who delivers party-related news and updates on its YouTube channel, while another AI model presents the TDP manifesto in Telugu, garnering significant attention on social media platforms. Similarly, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has unveiled ‘Samata,’ an AI anchor that recently amused Bengali voters with Holi wishes delivered in the local language on X (formerly Twitter), quickly gaining traction with 3.5k views within the first 12 hours of its release.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (PTI)
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has ingeniously leveraged AI to maintain connectivity between its incarcerated leader, Arvind Kejriwal, and the public. Following Kejriwal’s recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), his spouse, Sunita, has dutifully relayed his messages. However, the party has taken a futuristic leap by employing AI tools to transmute his written correspondence into spoken word.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi (PTI)
The BJP has embraced AI innovations by employing voice cloning techniques to replicate Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches across eight diverse languages, including Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Odia, and Malayalam.
In Telangana, the Congress party utilised a seven-second clip posted on social media platform X, featuring K.T. Rama Rao, a leader of the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samiti, endorsing the Congress. This move aimed to sway voters in favour of the Congress, as they queued up to cast their votes on November 30. The clip was widely shared across various WhatsApp groups, reportedly “operated unofficially” by the Congress, before being posted on the party’s official X account, garnering over 500,000 views.