Communication, political party perception and voting behavior of the people keep congenial nexus. Grounded on this bond, the main purpose of this study is to analyze the factors that impact political party perception and voting behavior of the people in Nepal from the perspective of communication, particularly residing on social networking sites: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. In purposive sampling method perception level detailed data were obtained from 333 respondents aged 20 years and above just before the historic constitutional assembly election in Nepal. A set of questionnaires including multiple choices and Likert scale questions were provided to obtain the information. Drawing the coherent substance from Technological Determinism, Social Judgment, Agenda Setting, Uses and Gratification, and Habermas’s Concept of Public Sphere and Political Campaign theories, the research explores the roles of social media in political party perception and voting behavior. The results show that political interest is positively related to political party perception and voting behavior, which infer that political party perception is influenced by political interest of the politician. The analysis also indicates that political trust is also positively related to political perception and voting behavior, which shows that political trust highly influences political party perception. Likewise, religion and social media are also positively related to political party perception and voting behavior. The study roots on primary source of data and contributes to understand the impact of social media in the society and politics.
KeywordsCommunicationPolitical Party Perception (PPP)Voting Behavior and Social Networking
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