Linguistic Representation in Political Party Manifestos: A Study of South Indian Elections

Karthik Subramanian

Independent Researcher

Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract
Political party manifestos are foundational documents that articulate parties’ policy agendas, ideological commitments, and appeals to diverse voter constituencies. In multilingual democracies such as India, the language choices manifestos make—whether in regional languages, English, or a blend of both—can profoundly influence their resonance among electorates. This study undertakes an extensive content‐analytic and survey‐based examination of 240 manifestos published by major regional and national parties in five South Indian states (Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana) over four general elections (1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014). It explores four interrelated dimensions of linguistic representation: the proportional use of regional languages versus English; the prevalence and patterns of code‐mixing; the balance between emotive, identity‐focused rhetoric and technical policy language; and thematic framing of key policy domains. Complementing the content analysis, a stratified survey of 200 registered voters was conducted to assess how different linguistic styles affect perceptions of clarity, emotional impact, and credibility. The findings demonstrate that regional parties predominantly employ native‐language, emotive appeals to reinforce cultural solidarity, whereas national parties progressively incorporate regional‐language content and English code‐mixing to blend modernity with local affinity. Technical policy framing is more pronounced in national party manifestos, catering to urban and educated segments, while emotive framing predominates in regional party communications, resonating strongly with rural voters. Survey results reveal that mixed linguistic strategies—moderate code‐mixing and balanced emotive‐technical language—achieve the highest ratings for credibility across demographic groups. These insights underscore the strategic importance of calibrated language use in shaping voter perceptions in linguistically diverse electoral contexts, offering practical guidance for future manifesto drafting.

Keywords
Linguistic Representation, Political Manifestos, Content Analysis, South India, Election Communication

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