'Meme Fest' of Indian politics: From Nitish Kumar to Melodi, are memes the new political currency? (2024)

From Nitish Kumar and Congress to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and India's PM Narendra Modi, the reactions on the internet after the Lok Sabha Elections results have ranged from brutally sarcastic to hilarious.

You open X these days, and are instantly bombarded with memes posted by everyone, from a novice with 40 followers to an 'influencer' with 4 million.

It makes one wonder if the meme, once the dominion of "le me, when Mom scolds" and the 'nervous frog' emoji, has now become a serious social currency with real-life political implications.

The Language of Memes

"Palat, palat, palat," Shah Rukh Khan's legendary dialogue from Dil Waale Dulhania Le Jaayenge is very popular right now. Nitish Kumar, the former Bihar chief minister infamous for frequently changing his political colours, is goaded to do so with the Modi 3.0 government by the King of Romance, in the popular quip.

On the other end of the ideological spectrum, supporters of PM Modi have been using memes from popular movies like 'Pushpa' to garner support for the NDA and shore up votes.

It is the new normal that the social media of all political parties use reels and memes to either disparage their opponents or glorify their leaders.

Indian National Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has often been the brunt of memes and jokes, as has Modi, the prime minister-designate.

The questions that are now of essence are these:

Have memes become how we communicate our political leanings?

Will they survive the test of time?

Let's take a deeper look.

Global allure of the meme

Memes and pranks of this sort have been made across the world, either to protest against their leaders or to express the people's support for them.

Famously, former UK PM Liz Truss was compared to lettuce by the Daily Star, with her tenure ending before the vegetable rotted. She later said this had 'hurt her' while UK citizens revelled.

Similarly, when foes, friends, and now foes again, Tejashwi Yadav and Nitish Kumar sat on the same plane while travelling to New Delhi, the duo became 'meme fodder' for people comparing them to their exes at a wedding party, cordial but angry.

Tech tycoon Narayana Murthy was also the target of memes when he advocated for a 70-hour workweek.

Harmless fun or real-life threat?

But there are critics and a dark side to meme-making and sharing.

When MP-elect Kangana Ranaut won and was allegedly assaulted by a CISF official, a meme fest erupted on X, with people rejoicing over the incident.

But some people, like comedian Mallika Dua, pointed out that this was nothing but the glorification of violence, and the officials who protect our nuclear reactors, cities, and communities must be sensitised to let go of their political opinions and act with strict indifference.

The internet does not exist in a vacuum and has real-life implications.

After the tragic demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, memes and conspiracy theories proliferated and fueled a vapid media trial.

This left such a lasting impact that many of the daily top 10 trends on Indian X are still #JusticeForSSR or #CBIForSSR, four years after the incident!

Good, bad or ugly?

To explore the true impact of memes, let's consider what their creators and consumers think.

Sanchita, a frequent Instagram user, says, "I think memes provide us, especially Gen Z, with much-needed comic relief during intense times such as elections because our future more often than not depends on the leaders that will be elected."

Varun says, "The meme makes complex issues like politics into a simple and relatable way to understand the situation better. It's going to evolve, and the internet is a vast medium, so it will survive."

Tamanna, a millennial, says, "With people becoming increasingly intolerant of others' viewpoints, memes are a great method to defuse tensions and make everyone laugh. When the Modi-Meloni memes took over, people were giggling, enjoying, and sharing them like crazy with their peers. I have hardly seen anyone taking offence at them."

Anuradha, a new user of social media, says, "I do see some political memes, and I think it’s okay to portray your political preferences in a funny manner. A little laugh never hurts you. We live in a democratic country and have the right to say what we believe in. The recent elections have proven my point."

Here to stay

No one can predict the next meme fest, and we could all become fodder for it. But one thing is clear: memes are here to stay, for good and bad.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, but a sarcastic meme can now take down governments.