The growing popularity of the eighties AI photo trend across social media platforms has taken a bitter political turn in India. What started as a nostalgic exercise involving retro visuals quickly transformed into a high-voltage digital war between the ruling party and the opposition. The controversy erupted when the opposition used generative technology to mock a state administration, prompting an aggressive counter-offensive from the ruling party that immediately set off a fierce online battle.
The Opposition Meme Targeting Gujarat
The escalation began when the official Kerala handle of the Congress party @INCKerala uploaded an AI-generated graphic. The image displayed a vintage Maruti Suzuki Omni vehicle parked on a street, with a figure visible inside. Given the vehicle's historical portrayal in classic Bollywood cinema as a symbol associated with abductions, the post served as an indirect jab at the law and order situation in Gujarat during that era. This creative dig immediately grabbed widespread attention across digital platforms and set the stage for a sharp political confrontation.
The Ruling Party Response and Counter-Attack
Reacting swiftly to the opposition post, the Telangana handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party @BJP4Telangana retaliated with an AI-generated image depicting a nineteen-seventies style European lounge setting where a woman is seen dancing. Although the post avoided naming any specific individual directly, it was widely interpreted as a pointed reference linked to Sonia Gandhi's birthplace in Italy. Simultaneously, the Gujarat unit of the party @BJP4Gujarat weighed in with aggressive commentary, accusing their political rivals of systemic corruption and inadequacy while defending their own governance.
Public Outrage and Reactions From Citizens
The resort to personal attacks and low-level generative memes by major national political entities left everyday social media users deeply frustrated. Citizens took to various platforms to express their disappointment over the degradation of political discourse. A user named Altaf Hussain questioned the misogynistic undertones of the shared imagery, emphasizing that public figures should maintain basic dignity. Another user, Board Soul, criticized the world's largest political organization for engaging in online trolling rather than constructive debate, while commentators like Shubhranshu Mukherjee and Hari Bograpu argued that sinking to the same level erodes any moral distinction between political rivals.
