Game of Thrones gets real in Indian elections -- political parties cash in on the mania

• The Election Commission of India picked up a famous phrase ‘Winter is coming’ from the Game of Thrones to raise voter awareness on Twitter.
  

• The Press Information Bureau, the media house of the government, used three characters from the show to urge people to vote.

The Election Commission of India, Press Information Bureau and some political parties are using the popularity of HBO’s Game of Thrones to maximise the number of voter turnout in the ongoing election 2019.

Since the beginning of the show in 2011, Game of Thrones has been one of the most dramatic series wooing fans through the depiction of power, sex and violence.

And the commencement of the final season of the show in between the on-going elections has given the Election Commission of India and some political parties the leverage to target the huge fan base of the show in India using memes and popular references.


The Election Commission of India picked up a famous phrase ‘Winter is coming’ from the show in its poster saying ‘? is Coming?’ to raise voter awareness on Twitter.


The Press Information Bureau, the media house of the government, used three characters from the show — Tyrion Lannister, Hodor, and the Dragon — to urge people to vote.


Indian National Congress, the major opposition party in the election, photoshopped the GOT poster. I replaced the main villain of the story, the Night King, with PM Narendra Modi alleging him for corruption.

Western Railways is also using the popularity of the show to draw the attention of travellers. "Be a wise Lannister, always travel with a ticket. Western Railway urges you to keep an appropriate ticket at all times avoid buying tickets from touts. #ForTheThrone #GameofThrones," the tweet read.

Interestingly, the seventh and the last phase of Lok Sabha Election 2019 and the finale of the show is going to happen on the same day — 19 May.