Candidates go digital: Marketing battle takes center stage

Raj Patil

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

January 16 will reveal which strategy prevails whether candidates relying on no marketing, local campaigns, or outside-state PR teams gain the edge in the elections.

As the city embraces new trends in social media marketing, almost all corporators are adopting self-branding strategies online. Political parties across the city are actively running social media publicity campaigns, with corporators using these platforms to connect with voters in every prabhag. For the first time, the elections will be held under the prabhag system. A total of 29 prabhags have been demarcated, out of which 28 prabhags will elect four members each, while one prabhag will elect three members, making a total of 115 corporators. Similar to last year, the adaptation of social media for self-marketing has become widespread across all prabhags.

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Connecting with voters trough citizen-style reels

This year, the trend has expanded to vodcasts (video podcast), with political PR agencies portraying candidates as ordinary ward residents. Short reels and vodcast clips show them interacting like locals, making them relatable to voters. The approach has gone viral, with many candidates adopting it to connect with the electorate in a personal and engaging way.

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PR agency rates for Municipal Corporators

Social Media Management: Rs 30,000 – Rs 35,000

Survey Work: Rs 700 – Rs 1,000

Graphic Designing: Rs 100 – Rs 200 per post

Trending Reels: Rs 1,000 – Rs 2,000 per reel

Total: Rs 40–3 lakh per month per corporator

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No PR Agency

"We did not hire any PR or political marketing agency. All publicity work is being managed entirely by our party workers. We are focused on direct outreach and connecting with voters ourselves, without relying on external teams,

- Kishor Shitole, BJP city president

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Local marketing ahead

After the 30th, we will kick off our marketing campaign and hire a dedicated local marketing team to reach voters more effectively. Our goal is to engage with residents directly, understand their concerns, and strengthen our party’s presence across the city. This strategy will help us connect with the community and build stronger support ahead of the elections.

- Vijay Waghchoure, Shinde Sena city president.

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Boosting campaign online

Along with our traditional campaign efforts, we will actively focus on social media marketing to promote our candidate. By using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, we aim to reach more voters, engage with the community, and create greater awareness about our candidate’s vision and initiatives.

- Shaikh Yusuf, Congress city district president.

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Ready for victory

We have brought in a professional PR team from outside the city to strengthen our campaign. I am fully committed to giving my best in the upcoming corporation election. With the support of our team and party workers, I believe we will receive a strong and positive response from the voters.

- Haribhau Hiwale, UBT Sena city president.