ShareChat emerges as go-to app for regional political parties to woo voters

Bengaluru-based local language social networking app ShareChat has been fast emerging as the go-to app for regional political parties looking to woo local voters.

Regional policial parties, especially in southern states, like YSR Congress, Jana Sena Party, CPI (M) and Telangana Rashtra Samiti are already using the platform heavily. Among other prominent political parties, Congress and AAP have joined to connect to local voters.

More political parties have also been showing interest in joining the platform, said an ET report.

According to the analysts, regional social media has become the biggest weapon for any political parties to reach out to local language speaking people. The ability to share on WhatsApp is also among prime reasons for them to be active on this local social media platform.

Sharechat does not have any English content. It is a complete vernacular-based social media platform in 14 regional languages.

Its audience, according to the company, is distinctive and core voter base.

Initially, the regional social app was started out as a content repository app for sharing on WhatsApp and has now evolved into a full-fledged social network. ShareChat allows users to create, discover and share content such as videos, jokes, audio songs, and images with each other.

Founded three years ago by IIT pass outs Farid Ahsan, Bhanu Singh, and Ankush Sachdeva, ShareChat claims to have 50 million registered users on its platform. It has around 11 million daily active users on the platform.

According to Sachdeva, Co-Founder, and CEO of ShareChat, unavailability of content in vernacular languages has been leading ShareChat’s growth.

In Sept this year, ShareChat raised $100 Mn in its last round of investment. So far, it has amassed around $122 million in total funding. It earns revenue through advertisements, payment transactions, and sponsored campaigns. A Bytedance firm, Helo is another player competing in the segment.

Last year, during Gujarat elections leaders like Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mewani and Alpesh Thakore used the platform. Politicians like Narendra Modi, Raj Thackeray, and Uddhav Thackeray are popular and often brought up during discussions.

The general election is due in next year in the country. With local people and topics gaining more prominence, ShareChat might make the most of the opportunity to become a medium to reach out to voters.