Kurukshetra: Candidates, parties active on social media to attract voters

Tribune News Service

Nitish Sharma

Kurukshetra, April 22

From sharing interview clips, to pictures with voters and using patriotic and motivational songs along with the videos of Lok Sabha candidates, the political parties and the candidates have been actively using social media platforms to attract voters. The social media handles of not only the BJP, INLD, and INDIA bloc candidates, but other leaders who have been campaigning for them and the handles of political parties are flooded with pictures and videos.

Youngsters play key role

For the candidates campaigning, a major section of the voters and youngsters are not available physically but virtually and active on social media platforms. They are consuming the content of all political parties. The hyper activeness of the candidates and the parties on social media not only helps them in reaching out to a large number of people in a short period of time but is also cost-effective . Organising public meetings and rallies takes a lot of energy. — Ashok Sharma, Digital media expert

The parties and candidates live stream their public meetings, post pictures of their meetings with local influential people, scheduled programmes and target the opposition candidates and parties.

BJP candidate Naveen Jindal, who recently started his election campaign, has been visiting all nine Assembly constituencies of the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha and his social media handles keep updating his short clips and pictures of meeting people, and seeking public support.

The social media handles of INDIA bloc candidate and AAP leader Sushil Gupta live stream his public meetings and pictures with the general public. The candidate and the party leaders also post pictures of AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, showing him behind the bars, to mark their resentment. However, their social media handles also make personal attacks on the BJP candidate and criticse the BJP leaders on various public issues.

Similarly, INLD leader and Kurukshetra Lok Sabha candidate Abhay Chautala’s social media handles keep posting about his public meetings and live stream his addresses. Abhay’s short clips of slamming the ruling BJP government over unemployment, inflation and law and order situation and also criticising the Congress, AAP and JJP leaders, are uploaded.

Ashok Sharma, a digital media expert said, “For the candidates campaigning, a major section of the voters and youngsters are not available physically but virtually and active on social media platforms. They are consuming the content of all political parties. The hyper activeness of the candidates and the parties on social media not only helps them in reaching out to a large number of people in a short period of time and but is also cost-effective. Organising public meetings and rallies takes a lot of energy.”

“Besides these, it is also a compulsion too. If a candidate is not active on the social media, he may not be able to reach the maximum people. Social media is available 24x7, all political parties have their IT cells and they spend time preparing strategies to strengthen their base. Even after the elections, the politicians remain active on social media to maintain their connection with the people. The use of social media for election campaign has increased over the last 10 years and it will continue to increase,” he added.

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