Published Paper Details:

In today's India, political communication depends heavily on social media to connect with voters. Political parties carefully design their online messages to appeal to people's emotions, strengthen what they already believe, and highlight "us versus them" differences between groups. This research project looks at the official social media posts of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC) during the 2024 General Election, from May 1, 2024, to June 1, 2024. Using both numbers (quantitative analysis) and interpretation (qualitative analysis), the research project explores how each party used certain cognitive biases such as emotional language, confirmation bias, framing, and in-group/out-group messaging. The findings show that both parties used these techniques, but in different ways. The BJP focused more on emotional appeals and "us versus them" language, while the Congress used framing and confirmation bias to strengthen its support base. These strategies influence how people think about politics, reinforce existing divides, and shape voting behavior. So, there is a growing need for media literacy so that citizens can better understand and critically evaluate political messages shared on social media.