Indian Elections,2014

Abstract

This article examines the political orientations of The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu and The Telegraph in the run up to the Indian elections held from 7 April to 12 May 2014. The window of examination is between 10 February and 15 March when all political news items related to the national parties—the Congress, the BJP and the AAP—were analyzed to determine which paper endorsed which party and to what extent. The findings show that in the run up to the polling days, the BJP occupied the most political space across the four papers. It also scored the highest in terms of positivity. The Hindu and The Telegraph were found to be more supportive of the Congress. A time-series analysis shows that political orientation among the papers shifted throughout the period of analysis as India geared up for the longest elections in its history.