Celebrification through Media Spectacles: Emerging Forms of Performativity in Indian Politics

Abstract

We live at a time when new forms of mediatisation are conditioning the political landscape of India, especially in the context of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the country. As heat wave conditions prevailed in many parts of the country, the quantity of time spent by politicians for on-ground campaigning was lesser in comparison with earlier elections. The hostile climatic conditions together with the intensity of digital empowerment, access to smartphones and availability of cheap data facilitated the formation of a thriving ecosystem of digital campaigning. The country witnessed political parties using digital spaces to an unprecedented level to inform, influence and even mislead the prospective voters. The focus of the paper will be on the strategic use of social media networks for the current elections in India to transform politicians into celebrities and the acts of performativity choreographed to entice the citizens with media spectacles.