Jind byelection: Battle on social media intensifies

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, January 14

The information technology (IT) cells of various political parties are geared up to exploit the penetration of social media among the electorate for the Jind byelection. Besides the tradition style of canvassing, social media too is emerging as an integral part the ongoing campaign.

Social media, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter and Youtube, is flooded with political content in the form of videos and text posts, adding colour to the ongoing electoral fight. However, the police action against some persons for an ‘objectionable post’ about Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar seems to have cautioned social media people and no controversial posts have emerged so far.

The BJP, Congress, INLD and the newly formed JJP have set up well-equipped war rooms in Jind town. The information technology (IT) cells have adopted well-chalked out strategies to spread their messages and counter the agenda of their opponents on social media.

The Haryana BJP, Congress candidate Randeep Singh Surjewala, INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala, JJP leaders Dushyant Chautala, and his father Ajay Chautala, BJP’s rebel MP Rajkumar Saini have verified Facebook accounts, which have large followings and attract likes and comments in hundreds on every upload.

The video posts of Abhay Chautala and his nephews Dushyant and Digvijay go viral on social media. Their supporters take potshots at each other, terming their leaders as genuine legacy holders of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

Arun Yadav, Haryana head of the IT cell of the BJP, says that they have a team of 25 people in the war room in Jind. “Our rival candidates are well ahead of us in the social media campaign right now. But we too are catching up with them. We have been running a positive agenda, highlighting the achievements of Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar,” he said, adding that they also keep a tab on the posts of the rivals.

The IT cells of other parties, especially the JJP, and the INLD, have embedded their supporters, posing as ‘social media anchors’ having a unique style of presentation. They interact with voters in the constituency to create content, which has wit, humour and take hard hits at the opponents to grab eyeballs.

Prof Vikram Kaushik, communication management and technology department head at Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, says that social media is an uncontrolled but powerful tool, which has the capacity to unleash mistrust. It plays with innocent minds. People believe in technology and thus believe in content,” Kaushik adds.