Instagram-worthy: Pune’s candidates crack the code of modern campaigning

The NCP employs mini trucks equipped with huge cardboard-made rotating clocks. (Express photo)

There was a time when election season looked predictable. Kurta-clad candidates handing out pamphlets, banners hung across every corner of the street, and rally speeches delivered from massive stages. But, the 2026 Pune Municipal Corporation elections have shattered this template entirely. This year, the campaigning has become a blend of technology and unhinged creativity. Candidates have realised that every campaign moment must be “Instagram-worthy”.

A robot dog campaigns for a party in the middle of the street, drawing crowds more effectively than a human campaigner. In more affluent and tech-savvy localities like Viman Nagar and Hinjewadi, campaigns have adopted an almost corporate aesthetic, deploying PowerPoint presentations as campaign tools.

Boats are being rowed through the Parvati area, where campaign workers unfurl banners and chant slogans, while simultaneously triggering concerns from environmentalists who question the environmental footprint of such aquatic campaigning. But the images and videos go viral, and that’s the hook. There are the bike rallies orchestrated by candidates. The NCP employs mini trucks equipped with huge cardboard-made rotating clocks that convey, “kaam karat aaloy, kaam karat rahu.” (I have always been working, and will continue working).

In a salon, a beautician is seen doing nail art depicting Eknath Shinde’s face etched across her customer’s fingernails. Observed near the Deccan area, a man draped entirely in BJP’s saffron stands at traffic signals. He moves around between the vehicles during red lights, establishing himself as a living billboard.

A humble street dog has become a political mascot where a BJP’s campaigning banner hangs around its neck as it trots through neighbourhoods. (Express photo)

The campaigns for the 2026 Pune municipal elections have evolved into a louder, more creative framework, realising that to reach voters, campaigns must be omnipresent, shape-shifting, and continually surprising.