Digital Media Strategies of Political Parties: Agenda Setting, Campaign Messaging, and Electoral Influence in India (2014–2024) with Global Perspectives

Background: India’s 969-million-voter electorate and 900-million internet users make it the world’s largest and most digitally complex democratic arena; party digital advertising grew twenty-fold from ₹~150 crore (2014) to ₹~2,500 crore (2024). Objective: This paper examines the digital media strategies of the BJP, INC, and AAP across 2014–2024, addressing platform prioritization (RQ1), narrative architecture (RQ2), and electoral influence (RQ3). Methods: A mixed-methods design combining systematic literature review (54 studies from 87 screened), qualitative content analysis of party social media outputs using a four-dimensional coding framework (κ = 0.81), and secondary analysis of Meta Ad Library, ADR, and Lok Dhaba electoral datasets. Results: Facebook and WhatsApp dominate investment; BJP maintains a structural first-mover advantage in platform infrastructure and AI adoption. Parties employ platform-specific narrative differentiation: emotional mass-mobilization on Facebook, elite agenda-setting on Twitter, evidence-governance on YouTube. Digital intensity correlates positively with vote share in high-penetration constituencies (r = 0.43 among urban first-time voters; AAP 2020 Delhi, 62/70 seats). The 2024 BJP shortfall (240 seats despite peak spend) establishes that digital strategy amplifies but cannot substitute for ground-level mobilization. Conclusion: Digital media is a necessary but insufficient condition for electoral success. AI-generated content and disinformation present urgent regulatory challenges that India’s existing legal framework is inadequate to address.