YouTuber candidate in Erode East launches unique digital campaign

Deepan Chakkravarthi reaches out to the electorate from a war room in an intriguing experiment.

Deepan Chakkravarthi in his election war room. | Photo Credit: By Special Arrangement

It is an election war room with a difference. Set up by Deepan Chakkravarthi, a 28-year old YouTuber who is one of the 70-odd contestants in the fray for the upcoming Erode East byelection in Tamil Nadu, it is a digital workout for him to “study and understand the first-past-the-post electoral system and evaluate the emerging influence of social media on it”.

The election is crucial for the major political parties. For the DMK, it is a matter of prestige to ensure that its alliance partner, the Congress, retains the seat. For AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami, a win is imperative for him to emerge as the party’s undisputed leader after Jayalalithaa.

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While the field is sizzling with high-voltage campaigns by the main parties, Deepan has chosen to remain physically invisible. | Video Credit: Ilangovan Rajasekaran, Frontline News Desk

Deepan Chakkravarthi, who contested in the 2021 Assembly election as an independent from Namakkal and secured 250 votes, told Frontline that he was not an academic. “But I am curious. It is not how many votes I got or will get. I want to understand and normalise the complex process of the democratic system.”

No door-to-door campaign

While the field is sizzling with high-voltage campaigns by the main parties, Deepan has chosen to remain physically invisible. He never ventures out for a door-to-door campaign. He does not travel in a minivan or car with a sound system asking for votes. There are no banners or notices, nor can any flag or symbol be seen anywhere. (He is contesting under the ‘mike’ symbol.)

According to him, politicians could go up to the doorsteps of the electorate, but “I can reach out to them beyond it”. He sits in his war room, comprising a few laptops and computers, a tripod and a mobile phone, with adequate lighting facility. “It is a tiny room but with the bare minimum infrastructure needed for a digital campaign. I shoot and upload short videos of two to three minutes for social media platforms and a few longer ones for YouTube,” he said.

Deepan, a former Tamil channel reporter, uploads three to four short clippings in a day in which he informs the people of Erode of his profile and why he chose to contest. He born in Edappadi in Salem district, but grew up in Namakkal and studied in Erode. “The Cauvery river divides us geographically. That’s all,” he said.

He harbours no illusions about his chances. “These are baby steps. I am optimistic that it will have an impact sooner or later. My primary objective is to reach those under 40, who are tech-savvy and use mobile phones. The responses are exciting. After the election I have to analyse the reach velocity,” he said.