As India gears up for the General Elections, the political battleground witnesses a stark dichotomy between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress party, with each employing contrasting strategies to capture the electorate's attention.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP is set to revolutionise its communication strategy by integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The innovative approach aims to bridge linguistic divides and engage the youth across India's diverse linguistic landscape. Leveraging AI algorithms, the BJP plans to translate Modi's speeches into regional languages, including Bangla, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Marathi, Odia, and Malayalam. This initiative democratizes political discourse access, emphasizing inclusivity and outreach across linguistic boundaries.
"The AI is a new advent, and Prime Minister used this technology in Varanasi to convey his feelings to our Tamil-speaking friends. If we have technology, why should we not use it? Politics is the game of giving messages. What's wrong if we use technology to spread our viewpoints?"* stated BJP Vice-President and lawmaker Vijay Bahadur Pathak.
The successful demonstration of AI-powered translation during a recent event in Varanasi, where Modi's Hindi speech seamlessly translated into Tamil in real-time, underscores the party's forward-thinking approach to communication and engagement.
In contrast, the Congress party appears to lack a clear focus, continuing to advocate for a caste census. Departing from the BJP's emphasis on technological advancements, Congress champions the idea of a comprehensive census based on caste divisions, aiming to address social disparities and ensure equitable representation for marginalised communities.
"This is the problem with Congress. It has failed to read the ground reality. The new millennia generation talks about technology and understands that better. The party which talks about it becomes the darling of the youth," commented Nomita P Kumar of Giri Institute of Development Studies in Lucknow.
Congress's advocacy for a caste census is rooted in the recognition of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as a significant political constituency in India. The party sees this initiative as a means to gain political leverage, particularly in terms of chief ministerial appointments and political power dynamics.
As BJP Vice-President Vijay Bahadur Pathak emphasized, *"We were the first to understand the importance of social media and used technology to spread our viewpoint. The AI is a new advent, and if we have technology, why should we not use it?"*
Congress spokesman DP Singh says BJP’s election campaign and use of AI is nothing but a gimmick. “Instead of talking about core issues like employment, heath issues and caste the BJP is raising issues which has more of glitz and gizmo involved in it,” he said and added: “Tell me, how many people in rural India know about AI. These people are suffering and our leader Rahul Gandhi has raised their pain in different platforms.”
As the political landscape evolves, the divergent strategies of the BJP and Congress come into sharper focus, with the BJP prioritising technological innovation and AI integration, while Congress underscores the significance of comprehensive data collection to inform policymaking and address social disparities.
The clash of ideologies between the two major political parties sets the stage for a dynamic and complex electoral discourse. The BJP's emphasis on technological advancement and the Congress party's focus on social data collection emerge as pivotal issues that will shape the political narrative leading up to the elections.
As the nation prepares to exercise its democratic right, the contrasting approaches of the BJP and Congress underscore the multifaceted nature of Indian politics. The forthcoming elections are poised to be a critical juncture in determining the trajectory of the country's political landscape, with the clash of these divergent ideologies shaping the choices of voters and defining the future course of Indian governance.
