In a video doing rounds on social media, the late former Kanniyakumari Member of Parliament (MP) H Vasanthakumar can be seen proudly calling upon the people of the constituency to vote for his son Vijay Vasanth, who is contesting as a Congress candidate from Kanniyakumari this election. Clad in a white shirt and a shawl bearing the Congress tricolour in the video, Vasanthakumar calls Vijay his “heir” who will work for the advancement of Kanniyakumari, and promises that he would serve the constituency and its people well.
Only, it has been nearly four years since Vasanthakumar passed away, and the uncanny figure that emulates his likeness on video has been generated by an artificial intelligence (AI) deepfake technology. In the distinctive albeit unsettling video, the AI version of Vasanthakumar recalls his own death due to Covid-19, stating that though he had “departed physically,” he believed he was still with the people of Kanniyakumari “emotionally.”
“My goal was to improve the standard of living for every family in Kanniyakumari. However, I was left with the anxiety that I could not fulfil my goal. My dear son Vijay Vasanth is another opportunity for me to make my dreams and goals for you all come true,” the figure emulating Vasanthakumar says in the video, which runs for slightly over a minute.
AI Vasanthakumar also expresses confidence in his son’s candidature, elaborating on how Vijay would serve Kanniyakumari and its people. “He [Vijay Vasanth] is my heir and will earn the affection and trust you all had in me. You are all confident that he will serve you well and this confidence in him makes me proud. He will be one among you and serve you all. I am confident that Vijay Vasanth will work for the advancement of Kanniyakumari, welfare of the children and to safeguard your interests,” the video says.
Vasanthakumar, a businessman turned politician, had succumbed to Covid-19 in Chennai on August 28, 2020. His demise necessitated a bye-election in 2021 in the Kanniyakumari constituency, which his son Vijay Vasanth won by a margin of more than 1,37,000 votes. Both the father (in 2019) and son had consecutively defeated former MP and Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, who is contesting for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kanniyakumari for the 10th time in a row this year.
This is far from the first time political leaders in Tamil Nadu have been resurrected using deepfake technology. In January 2024, former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Chief Minister M Karunanidhi made an AI appearance, congratulating senior party politician TR Balu for his autobiography. A similar video was released during Karunanidhi’s centenary celebrations in September 2023 as well, which marked the first of many times his image would be reproduced with the help of technology.
Similar AI videos of leaders from the yesteryear have been popular in the campaigns for the Lok Sabha elections. In February 2024, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) shared an AI video of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa from their official X account, urging people to vote for their party. In neighbouring Kerala, the late CPI(M) stalwart EK Nayanar made a ‘comeback’ in a 28-seconds-long Instagram story, seeking support in his voice for V Joy, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) candidate in Attingal Lok Sabha constituency.
So far, India’s election model code of conduct (MCC) does not stipulate any rules concerning the use of AI deepfake technology for election campaigning.