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New Delhi: Times have
changed and so has political campaigning. In order to reach out to
the younger generation, candidates in upcoming municipal polls in
the capital are using Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and other social
networking sites to communicate with voters.
Gone are the days of loudspeakers and posters. The Election
Commission has banned posters and severely restricted the use of
loudspeakers.
A growing number of professionals and people who have lived
abroad, who are contesting the April 15 elections to the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in their bid to improve the living
conditions in the city, are using modern means and tools of
communication to convey their message and canvass support. Parties
like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are using the mobile to
reach out.
Besides door-to-door campaign, 22-year-old Ankita Saini, the
youngest in the fray, is using Facebook to reach out to her
voters.
"I have created my page 'Support Ankita Saini' on Facebook which
has already got 200 likes. My TV interviews, photographs,
newspapers clippings feature on my page which will help the common
man know more about me," Saini, who has studied in Canada, told
IANS.
Asked whether voters will really go on the Internet and view her
profile, Saini, fighting on the BJP ticket, said: "My ward comes
under the upscale zone where people are aware of networking
websites, They would like to read about their candidates and their
background," said Saini who is fighting from south Delhi's Hauz
Khas ward.
Saini says she will join Twitter to let people know about her
development plans in her ward.
The BJP, which rules the MCD, has developed a mobile application
through which users can go to the party's websites and read
speeches, watch videos and other campaign material.
"A recent survey stated that people spent 7-8 hours surfing the
internet and 65 percent of Delhi's youth is under 40 years of age.
We are effectively using the medium of internet to communicate
with voters," said Arvind Gupta, in-charge of the technology
innovation project for the Delhi BJP.
"We are inviting people's response through our Facebook page and
their responses and views will be incorporated into our vision
document of the party," he added.
Congress' young candidate Kapil Yadav, who is a law graduate, is
utilising Facebook to the hilt, putting his objectives and issues
before the people.
"I am updating my Facebook page with the burning issues in my area
like problems of sewage and roads. I also want to spread awareness
among people about the policies of our party," Yadav, contesting
from Rohini North in the capital, told IANS.
"Soon, I will also use telecalling for campaigning. Wherever we
will go we will take the numbers of voters and call them for their
feedback and response. I would like to know what they think about
how a candidate should be," Yadav told IANS.
Amrita Dhawan, a young woman candidate from the Congress, has a
large number of fans on her various Facebook pages where users'
comments hoping for her victory can be sighted.
Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Jai Prakash Agarwal said
the party will be actively involved in the campaigning on its
official website.
(Gaurav Sharma
can be contacted at gaurav.s@ians.in)
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