As the elections draw near in Andhra Pradesh, political parties are ramping up their campaigns with various strategies to attract voters. Recently, a meeting was held in Addanki, and the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) claimed a significant turnout, highlighting the popularity of Jagan.
However, social media users pointed out a new element in the campaigning—VFX (Visual Effects). Pictures from a Siddham meeting in Addanki showed green carpets laid out, leading to speculations that Jagan’s media team used VFX to create an illusion of a larger crowd.
Today, another public meeting of “Siddham” is scheduled at Medarametla village in Bapatla district. The YSRCP anticipates a massive attendance of around 15 lakh people in a sprawling 100-acre area. Interestingly, similar to the previous event, green mats, commonly used in the VFX process as chroma-key, have been set up across the venue. This has fueled rumors that the party might utilize these mats to exaggerate the crowd size through VFX same as they done for Addanki meeting.
Meanwhile, the Bapatla District Police have issued Section 149 notices to media channels, urging them not to cover the event. Similar notices were sent to leaders from UTF and TDP, instructing them to refrain from attending the public meeting. The police have warned of legal consequences for non-compliance with these orders.
Media representatives were taken aback by these notices, finding the situation unusual and perhaps challenging the transparency of the political events. As the political landscape becomes more technologically influenced, debates on the ethical use of such visual techniques in campaigning are likely to arise.
