Himachal: Virtual world abuzz with poll battle

Bhanu P Lohumi

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Shimla, October 16

Battle lines have been drawn in the virtual world even as the announcement of candidates of major political parties is on the anvil. An intense electoral battle is going on in the cyberspace with political parties and their supporters leaving no stone unturned to run down their opponents.

The parties are using bytes of the public for and against the government to provide feedback from the horse’s mouth. Besides, war rooms have been set up and WhatsApp groups are being used to disseminate information among the workers.

The BJP, which has the maximum followers on social media, has drawn a comparison between their and the Congress regimes with videos, graphics and real-time data. The party is focusing on the achievements of the double-engine government.

“We have over 4.55 lakh followers, including 2.75 lakh on Facebook, 1.6 lakh on Twitter and 21,000 on Instagram,” said Puneet Sharma, heading the social media for the BJP.

Some of the campaigns run by the BJP include “Himachal ki pukar, phir ek baar BJP sarkar” and “Garib Ke karib”. The BJP is aiming to gain through the infighting in the Congress through its posts.

Meanwhile, bytes on the performance of the Centre and the state government leading to price rise, inflation and unemployment and its impact on the commoners is being highlighted through videos on social media by the Congress. The party is also targeting the incomplete projects inaugurated by the PM and the CM in a haste.

The campaign song launched by AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi had evoked an overwhelming response, said Congress’ social media head Abhishek Rana, adding that 10 promises were also being propagated.

“We have over 3.2 lakh followers on our three official social media accounts, which include over 2.5 lakh followers on Facebook, over 50,000 on Twitter and over 20,000 on Instagram,” he said, adding that constituency and booth-wise WhatsApp groups had been formed.

“The online content of AAP — with over 1.45 lakh followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and 60,000 on YouTube — revolves around “Is baar bada badlav ke liye, ek mauka Kejriwal ko” campaign,” said social media head Ashu Bodh Deori.

AAP is reviving old issues such as Gudiya case to hit on the Congress besides posting the CAG reports with negative comments on the Jai Ram Thakur government to build its campaign. Concentrating on 11-13 seats, the CPM is penetrating with WhatsApp broadcasting groups and 2,000 WhatsApp groups are functional in the state. However, the CPM social media followers are limited to about 25,000.