The ballots may still be weeks โ or months โ away, and candidates officially unnamed, but in the industrial heartland of Asansol, West Burdwan, the election circus has already acquired a new ringmaster: artificial intelligence.
In the politically volatile Pandabeshwar constituency of West Burdwan district, AI-generated satire has transformed the pre-election atmosphere into something between a digital carnival and a gladiatorial arena. And leading this surreal parade is none other than Gabbar Singh, resurrected from the cinematic ashes of Sholayโ this time not to terrorise Ramgarh, but to haunt Pandaveshwarโs political landscape.
Though the Election Commission has yet to announce polling dates or confirm candidates, political undercurrents are unmistakably visible. Supporters of both the ruling All India Trinamool Congress and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party appear to have already anointed their champions.
Incumbent MLA Narendranath Chakraborty has intensified public outreach, attending local events and showcasing developmental initiatives. His frequent presence has fuelled widespread assumptions among grassroots workers that his candidacy is all but inevitable.
Across the aisle, BJP leader Jitendra Tewari has sharpened his attacks, alleging irregularities and positioning himself as the principal challenger. Their rivalry, long simmering beneath the surface, has now erupted into an unconventional digital duel.
The battleground has shifted decisively to social media, where AI-generated videos drip with satire, mockery, and theatrical exaggeration. In one viral clip, Tewari is reimagined as Gabbar Singhโ a metaphorical outlaw, stalking the electorate. In another, he is chased by animated dogs, scrambling for escape in a sequence dripping with ridicule. Elsewhere, AI portrays him pleading desperately before party leadership for a ticket, while local dialect mockery brands him โHabwal,โ amplifying the sting of political caricature.
Not even peripheral figures have escaped the algorithmโs scalpel. Agnimitra Paul, MLA of Asansol South, has been digitally lampooned in videos questioning her familiarity with local geography, set to the taunting refrain of โDidibhaiyer Dekha Nai.โ
Yet the BJP camp has retaliated with its own arsenal of AI-driven satire. In counter-videos, Chakraborty himself is cast in villainous hues, while ominous threats to halt welfare benefits like Lakshmi Bhandar are dramatised, weaponising fear alongside humour.
Chakraborty defended the technological turn in campaigning, framing it as both symbolic and strategic.
โGabbar Singh represents tyranny and exploitation. The battle against him symbolises the triumph of truth,โ he said. โThis is the era of AI. We must move forward with technology. Just as partyโs general secretary Abhishek Banerjee has created digital warriors, our supporters too have embraced AI. It is a message of staying ahead.โ
Tewari, however, distanced himself from orchestrating such campaigns.
โWe have not officially directed anyone to create AI videos,โ he said. โIf supporters are doing it independently, we cannot control everything. But I will never personally post such content. I have never fallen so low.โ
For residents, the spectacle evokes nostalgia for an earlier era of biting political cartoonsโ except now, the ink has been replaced by algorithms, and the caricaturists by coders.
What was once confined to newspaper margins has burst into immersive, hyper-real digital theatre. AI has not merely amplified political messagingโ it has altered its very grammar, blending ridicule with realism so seamlessly that the line between satire and propaganda blurs.
Yet amid the laughter and spectacle, a note of caution lingers. Many locals, while amused, express concern that humour should not descend into vulgarity or misinformation.
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