A monarch, his challengers and the social media foot soldiers

Ganesh Bhalerao is a cartoonist hoping to go viral in the battle to secure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election when India votes over the next two months.

Hired by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to find amusing ways to lionise Modi or lampoon opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, Bhalerao is a social media warrior in an election campaign being fought online as never before.

“Political parties are realising the importance of cartoons as they elicit a huge response,” the 29-year-old former art teacher told Reuters while feverishly sketching a piece glorifying the Modi government for ordering the recent air strikes against Pakistan. Cartoons posted on BJP-run Facebook pages, Twitter handles and WhatsApp groups reach millions, Bhalerao told Reuters as he worked in his apartment in Pune. “A cartoon conveys the message of a 500-1,000 word article in just a minute,” he said.