Telangana: BRS hires at least 250 ‘influencers’ and celebrities to promote its campaign

The influencers are also told not to use the names or pictures of candidates or endorse individual candidates. “Or this would get counted under candidate expenditure,” the source said. 

The popularity of these videos has naturally angered opposition party leaders, who have accused the BRS of spending crores of rupees for their campaign. “We do not have money for this style of campaigning,” said a Congress strategist. Another Congress source, however, said they did try to hire a small number of influencers but could not find an agency that would do the job.

Surrogate advertising not counted

Conventional advertisements of political parties are scrutinised by the Media Certificate and Monitoring Committee of the Election Commission of India. The committee checks if the content is in compliance with the Model Code of Conduct and also seeks the cost of production. But social media testimonial-like videos by influencers do not need any acknowledgement from the ECI. These advertisements are exempt from ECI’s scrutiny since the candidate and the political party are not directly involved.  

As per the ECI, “Any political content in the form of messages/comments/photos/videos posted/uploaded on the ‘blogs/self accounts’ on website will not be treated as a political advertisement and therefore would not require pre-certification, even if the same is posted/uploaded by the political parties/candidates.”

In 2013, the commission was considering the matter with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology on practical ways to deal with the issue. However, no decision was taken. 

Speaking about the issue, former Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy said, “This is a huge challenge for the ECI. There is a conflict of interest, but it also infringes on freedom of expression. But somewhere, a line has to be drawn. The ECI should consider regulating this form of advertising wherever possible. This campaigning style is faulty, and political parties have been clever to adopt it.”

The Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, in a press note on November 14, said, “It is observed that political parties are running advertisements on YouTube and similar platforms without prior approval. This also requires approval from the State Level Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).” This, however, is restricted to party advertisements and not surrogate ones.

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