As the world’s largest democracy unfolded its fate on Tuesday, the Lok Sabha 2024 results became a virtual battleground of wit and humor on social media : From Bihar’s political maneuvers to the surprising twists in Uttar Pradesh, netizens spared no one, including veteran politicians and even fictional characters, in their creative commentary.
For instance, Nitish Kumar’s JDU returning to the BJP-led NDA just months before the elections sparked a wave of memes. One particularly notable one featured an old banner of Nitish with the text “Nitish sabke hain (Nitish belongs to everyone)”, poking fun at his political flip-flopping. Many X-users termed him as “Paltu Ram” (the political turncoat), with one user even suggesting that his allegiance shifts were a cause for concern for the BJP.
Likewise, with the INDIA bloc making significant strides against the NDA in Uttar Pradesh, memes highlighted key battles like Congress’ Kishori Lal Sharma leading in Amethi against BJP’s Smriti Irani. They also commented “UP walo ne dokha de diya” (UP people cheated ).
The BSP’s exclusion from the INDIA bloc and the removal of Mayawati’s nephew Akash Anand as the party’s general coordinator became meme material, reflecting the internal dynamics of political parties.
Even NRIs were depicted in memes, with a humorous take on them gathering at a South Indian restaurant in the US to track election results in Andhra Pradesh, alongside the Lok Sabha vote counting.
The meme frenzy didn’t spare the stock market’s tumble following unexpected election trends. Memes from films like “Chup Chup Ke” and “Gangs of Wasseypur” hilariously captured investors’ reactions and mocked the accuracy of exit polls. Some netizens took aim at TV news channels’ coverage of exit polls too, with references to popular shows and films like “Panchayat” and “Gangs of Wasseypur”, highlighting the disconnect between predictions and reality.
As the initial trends belied the exit poll results, the Indian stock market tumbled, with both Sensex and Nifty taking a massive hit. People found solace in sharing memes apt for the situation.
While one X user RJDixita shared two chubby panda cubs tumbling down a grassy slope with a caption that read “Nifty-Sensex today!”, another posted a screengrab from Shahid Kapoor-starrer “Chup Chup Ke”, with a caption “Investors seeing their portfolio today be like”.
Memes also reflected on the scattered mandates in states like Maharashtra, where multiple parties competed for seats, leading to humorous commentary on the political landscape.
