Assembly Polls: Haryana leads digital ad spends, J&K gains ground

As assembly polls approach in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana, digital ad spending has been surging, with Haryana leading the way. The state spent Rs 2.11 crore on political ads between August 8 and September 6, 2024, according to Meta's Ad Library.

In the past 30 days, Haryana has recorded the second-highest digital political ad spending on ads related to social issues, elections, or politics.

Leading the charge among top spenders is Congress leader Deepender Singh Hooda, who invested Rs 27.6 lakh on 814 ads.

Beyond political parties and candidates, allied pages are also ramping up their digital presence. Notable spenders from Haryana include Desa Mai Des Haryana, which spent Rs 18 lakh, and Indian National Congress - Haryana, with Rs 10 lakh.

J&K catching up fast

The nature of these states plays a pivotal role in shaping the political strategies, said experts.

“While J&K faces limitations in social media access, especially in the Valley, Haryana has a much larger urban population and higher internet penetration. This has resulted in significantly more digital chatter and engagement in Haryana, with political messages reaching a broader audience through various digital platforms, making it a key battleground for both parties,” said Mumbai-based poll and communication strategist Tushar Panchal, founder of WarRoom Strategies.

Shradha Agarwal, co-founder and global CEO- Grapes agreed with Panchal.

According to her, though the digital landscape of J&K might not be as evolved as other states, post the revocation of Article 370, the government has made great strides to empower the citizens of the union territory digitally.

“The various initiatives by the government such as ‘Digi Dost’ program, AapKi Zameen Aapki Nigrani,’ special camps at Tehsil and Block level offices to drive the digital literacy of the masses, etc. has improved the digital penetration into the region significantly. Therefore, with the citizens becoming digitally empowered and consuming a lot of digital content, we are anticipating a generous budget will be allocated to digital ads for the assembly polls for both the places,” Agarwal said.

Infact, on Meta, Jammu and Kashmir was third on the list of states with the highest spends in the last 30 days’ period when it came to political ads.

A community organisation page Unfiltered Jammu Kashmir was the highest spender in the state that shelled out Rs 22.4 lakh, The official Bharatiya Janata Party page on Meta spent Rs 15.2 lakh on 251 ads in the last 30 days.

Meanwhile, Google’s Ad Transparency Report places Haryana as the second-highest spender on political ads between August 10 and September 8, 2024, with Rs 41.9 lakh in spending, while Jammu & Kashmir saw a smaller spend to the tune of Rs 2.12 lakh in the same period.

What is driving the surge in spending?

Some experts predict that spending has just begun and will likely double in the next month as both states approach their poll dates, focusing on last-mile propaganda and influence.

“The upcoming elections will be a litmus test for both BJP as well as the opposition alliance to prove whether the narrative that propagated in 2024 general elections was true. These elections will become a testament of that narrative.

“On the spends, both sides have majorly geared up their spending and it may turn out to be one of the costliest state elections in the last decade. It is only to save the honour, which itself is directly associated with the pride of Haryana. There’s a fierce battle on all social platforms, right from ads to site captures to the use of social media influencers” said Ashutosh Harbola.

Harbola, is the CEO & Co-founder of influencer management agency Buzzoka and works with a host of political clients.

According to him, the good part is that these elections have gone hyperlocal this time and a lot of regional players are minting on those grounds.

For a change, mainstream media might not be a beneficiary of this spend but local media, and local creators are definitely seeing a huge surge,” he said.

Content strategy

According to Google data, 90% of the political ads were in video format.

The narrative however is naturally different in both states.

“Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Haryana present two distinct political and digital landscapes. In J&K, BJP has been focusing its efforts on the Jammu region, anticipating limited support in the Kashmir Valley due to their stance on national integration and security, while Congress, allied with the National Conference, pushes for the restoration of Article 370. Meanwhile, in Haryana, BJP faces strong anti-incumbency and has concentrated on beneficiary outreach and national issues like Article 370. Congress on the other hand is capitalising on rural distress and is focusing on grassroots outreach,” Panchal added.