Social media and schedule tribe’s voting behaviour in India: A case study of Arunachal Pradesh

Abstract

Social media has become a powerful tool for political communication and mobilization in recent years. However, its impact on the voting behaviour of schedule tribe voters, who constitute a significant segment of the electorate in Arunachal Pradesh, remains largely unexplored. This study examines how social media influences the political awareness, participation, and preferences of scheduled tribe voters in Arunachal Pradesh, a state with diverse ethnic and cultural groups. The study is based on primary data collected through a survey of 300 Scheduled Tribe voters from various constituencies and secondary sources such as electoral rolls, official reports, and media articles. The study finds that social media has a positive and significant effect on the political awareness and participation of Scheduled Tribe voters, but a mixed and moderate effect on their political preferences. The study also reveals that Scheduled Tribe voters use social media mainly for information-seeking, social networking, and entertainment purposes. Their exposure to social media varies across different demographic and socio-economic factors. The study concludes that social media has the potential to enhance the political empowerment and representation of Scheduled Tribe voters in Arunachal Pradesh, but also poses some challenges and risks to the quality and integrity of democracy.