‘Harry Potter’ Kejriwal against ‘Voldemort’ Shah: AAP takes the AI route

The AI-generated videos have been a key part of the AAP’s social media campaign for the Delhi polls, with the party “repurposing” several viral film and TV clips and giving them a satirical spin. One such video uses a scene from popular Bollywood film Chup Chup Ke, with the image of Amit Shah’s face superimposed on Paresh Rawal’s character and BJP candidates Ramesh Bidhuri and Parvesh Verma similarly replacing other actors of the film, Rajpal Yadav and Shahid Kapoor. The dialogues, altered using AI, seek to add a comical twist.

Such AAP videos are said to have gained traction prompting the party to create an entire series to poke fun at its rivals. Among them is “India’s Got Latent”, a satirical take on a comedy show where BJP leaders crack jokes as contestants, while judges Raghav Chadha, Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Kejriwal, and Sanjay Singh look on. So far, four campaign videos have been released under this series, featuring morphed images of Shah, Bidhuri, Verma, and BJP MP Manoj Tiwari.

Some of the AAP’s AI videos take a more aggressive approach. In one of them, the party counters the BJP’s “Sheesh Mahal” allegation – meant to target Kejriwal’s erstwhile “luxurious” chief ministerial house at 6, Flag Staff Road – by listing the “high expenses” allegedly incurred for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence dubbed by the video as “Raj Mahal”.

From engaging in rap battles to song-and-dance routines, comedy clips to movie parodies, the AAP seems to have tapped into everything in its social media resources to direct its messages to Delhi’s urban voters.

According to the party’s social media team, this strategy has been largely successful. “We heavily focused on Twitter and Instagram because we knew that a large number of voters in Delhi are active on these platforms… Unlike West Bengal or Andhra Pradesh, Delhi’s voters are largely urban and we knew this would appeal to them,” said a party source.

The AAP “realised” the potential of this campaign in December last year when an AI-generated video featuring B R Ambedkar – released following the controversy over Shah’s remarks on Ambedkar in Parliament – went viral. The short clip depicted an AI-generated Ambedkar giving his “blessings” to Kejriwal, who beseeches him for strength. “Give me strength, Babasaheb, to fight the people who insult you and your Constitution,” its subtitle read.

“It’s mostly an experimental tool we have used… we noticed how trendy this was with the youth. Once we used AI for the Ambedkar video, we saw other parties following through with it as well,” said an AAP source.

The BJP soon responded with an AI video of an animated Kejriwal boasting about the amenities in his “Sheesh Mahal”, set to the tune of Honey Singh’s “Millionaire” song. “Most people in Delhi engage a lot with YouTube, Twitter and Instagram. To cater to an audience like that you need to keep experimenting with different types of content generation,” the source added.

This Election Season…

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— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) February 3, 2025

The AAP’s social media team however emphasises that all such AI-related ideas are first brainstormed by them. Some AI-generated videos feature LEGO characters explaining AAP’s welfare schemes, while others use figures to claim how much money each household can save— Rs 25,000 per year, according to one video— on account of the AAP’s policies. “Each concept is carefully designed and thought out before we go to the AI generator… we take approval from the party before releasing each video… The spoof ones are done in collaboration with the party and we ensure that the humour is in good taste, and not below the belt,” the source said.

The AAP’s AI-driven campaign also shows just how much political outreach has changed in the digital age. Apart from their traditional speeches and rallies, parties are now vigorously tapping into the internet culture, using various contents blended with satire to connect with voters.