It’s been a couple of years since physical posters got banned in Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections, and candidates took to social media for campaigning. But in 2026, the DUSU candidates have even moved over basic memes and slogans and riding high on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) machinery to create campaigning content that will compel you to pause and relent a smile or say aloud, ‘kuchu puchu’!
It’s AI that has consumed this year’s DUSU election campaigning season with the battle being fought as much on ground as through the best prompt challenge. Generating Reels and content that’s creative enough to get watched by maximum viewership, the social media teams of student candidates are in hopes that this will in turn create awareness and spike interest around their neta, which will eventually convert into votes on the polling day, ie September 18.
The brains behind it, the social media handlers of the candidates and student parties, share the strategy that goes into it.
“Up until last year, all social media pages were making Reels on Instagram during elections, to promote various candidates. But this year, AI has changed the whole game as that’s the content that’s getting the maximum traction,” says Anam Pandey, who runs several pages in support of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)’s presidential candidate Yash Dabas, and adds, “DUSU elections are now about how creative one can get with the prompts and different AI tools, to get the most relatable and viral content.”
The shift is as much about the algorithm as it is about strategy, explains Nitin Mittal, a final-year student who is managing the social media accounts affiliated to National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). He says, “The algorithm of Instagram right now is such that viral AI content is really grabbing attention. So you can’t just be thinking that we will only create serious, informative campaigning posts. Hence we are inclined towards creating posts that are fun, light and grab the attention while bringing students to your page. Then one can be smart in making sure that while serving fun, you are also able to deliver your message, campaign motto, and manifesto.”
{{/usCountry}}The shift is as much about the algorithm as it is about strategy, explains Nitin Mittal, a final-year student who is managing the social media accounts affiliated to National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). He says, “The algorithm of Instagram right now is such that viral AI content is really grabbing attention. So you can’t just be thinking that we will only create serious, informative campaigning posts. Hence we are inclined towards creating posts that are fun, light and grab the attention while bringing students to your page. Then one can be smart in making sure that while serving fun, you are also able to deliver your message, campaign motto, and manifesto.”
{{/usCountry}}As much as this sounds exciting, it sure needs some serious brainstorming. Hence, Yash Singh, who is part of the creative conceptualisation team for Yash Dabas’ social media campaign shares how the goal is a calculated chaos. One of their Reels has garnered over 500k views in less than 24 hours. “The plan is to create AI content, but do it in a way that it’s also quirky and funny and not just brainless,” says Singh, a first-year MA student, adding, “Some of the Reels we are posting start a complete flurry of remarks in the comments section, with hundreds of students sharing opinions, memes etc. This kind of interaction doesn’t even happen while campaigning in person, and it brings so much attention to our candidate and in a way increases recall value.”
On the NSUI’s side of the campaign trail, the team is just as convinced that the time is ripe for AI to takeover memes. “Memes are fun, but they are now outdone. It’s no longer about just repeating a couple of slogans, or a slang or one poster,” shares Jatin, a final-year student on the social media team of NSUI’s presidential candidate, Vijay Shankar Meena, adding, “Through AI you can tell a full story in 10-20 seconds. That has immense possibility.”