From YouTuber to independent, Deepan Chakkravarthi hopes to grab the electorate’s eyeballs, if not votes
The 32-year-old former journalist says that by contesting the polls, he wants to inspire youngsters to join politics.
4 min read
Deepan Chakkravarthi has set up a typical “election war room” where two laptops and a monitor help him keep a tab on the latest happenings in the constituency. (Express Photo) Deepan Chakkravarthi, a 32-year-old YouTuber who worked as a journalist for about eight years, is contesting the Erode East Assembly bypoll in Tamil Nadu as an independent.
Deepan tried his luck earlier in the 2021 Assembly polls as an “experimental candidate” in Namakkal — to learn and also to explain to the public about the processes involved in contesting elections.
He was allocated the lorry symbol in 2021. He then ran an eight-part video series titled MLA Ennum Naan on his YouTube channel, Chennai Vlogger. It followed his campaign routine.
Deepan first wanted to become a lawyer and then to join the civil service but ended up as a journalist. However, he later quit the mainstream media and founded his own YouTube channel to speak about culture, people and society in 2018.
The YouTuber, who polled 249 votes in his previous attempt, is now gearing up for his next electoral test. Allocated the mike symbol this time, Deepan wants to reach out to 2.26 lakh voters through the digital medium as he believes that is the only way he could do it. He says he has a better understanding of the election dynamics now.
Deepan says that by contesting the polls, he wants to inspire youngsters to join politics. Despite being a resident of Namakkal, he believes that voters of neighbouring Erode will support him.
Though the Election Commission (EC), according to Deepan, allows a bypoll candidate to spend up to Rs 40 lakh, he is going to spend only Rs 2,000—Rs 1,000 of it for opening a bank account to monitor his election expenses—barring the Rs 10,000 deposit to contest the poll.
“Trust me: I am not expecting any number of votes. In the last election, I thought even if 100 people voted for me it would be an achievement, but I got over 240 votes. I have been a reporter; I know the ground reality. I hope people will support me for that. The efforts I make today are basically to influence the future generation. They need to be taught that without money power, they can still achieve their aim,” he said.
The YouTuber has set up a typical “election war room” where two laptops and a monitor help him keep a tab on the latest happenings in the constituency — other candidates’ campaigns, EC measures to ensure a fair election and a lot more. He also has a collection of documents related to the election, symbols of all candidates and voters’ details, among other things.
“Being an influencer sort of helps me in the digital space. I am sure if comedy or any genre of videos can fetch million views, an informative video like the one I am planning to do will also attract the public. There are about 2.26 lakh voters in the Erode East Assembly constituency. If my video reaches at least half of them, I consider it a success. Whether to vote for me or not is their choice, but I will be happy if they at least know that I am contesting this poll,” he says.
The Assembly seat became vacant after the demise of Congress MLA Thirumahan Everaa. The bypoll is scheduled for February 27 and the counting of the votes for March 2.
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