At a time when likes and shares influence political backgrounds as much as on-ground campaigns, the past fortnight bore witness to an unprecedented event. It was a collaboration, or perhaps a coalescence, of two realms that have stirred adoration and vitriol in equal measure – politics and influencer marketing.
It all began when YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, better known by his internet moniker BeerBiceps, began interviewing BJP ministers on his YouTube channel. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, S Jaishankar, Smriti Irani and Piyush Goyal found themselves under Allahbadia’s internet spotlight – he has 5.61 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.5 million on Instagram, and 528,700 on Twitter.
