Bengaluru candidates milking social media to woo IT city voters this election season
Parties are running online campaigns and going all out to leverage digital medium to reach out to voters.
By ET Bureau | Updated:
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Since most Bengaluru voters don't attend election rallies, political parties are going digital in the city.
By Tushar Kaushik
BENGALURU: For Bengaluru’s voters, most of who do not attend election rallies, social media is their lone point of contact with candidates fighting the election. Little wonder then that parties are doing their best to leverage social media to reach out to voters.
Both the Congress and the BJP have held training sessions for booth-level workers to teach them the basics of social media. Workers were taught how to go on twitter, tag a leader, how to retweet, how to like and comment on a post.
A major difference between the two parties is the strength of their social media staff. While the Congress has about 17 members in the state, the BJP has 15 office-bearers each at the state, district and Assembly constituency levels, in addition to 100 volunteers in social media cells in each Assembly segment. The number of followers for BJP’s candidates from Bengaluru’s constituencies is also far more than that of their Congress counterparts.
The head of BJP’s social media unit, Balaji Srinivas, said participation of leaders in social media activities has reduced during election time due to their campaign commitments. “But their approvals are taken before posting anything. At times, they also send content to their teams,” he said.
Most Congress leaders have their own team for posting content on social media. “Dinesh Gundu Rao is an exception and handles his account himself. However, in most cases, the politicians themselves are not aware of how to navigate social media, and it is their sons and daughters who handle things for them,” a source said.
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The resident welfare association (RWA), Whitefield Rising, whose Facebook page has over 24,400 members, has allowed all three Bangalore Central candidates to upload three political posts per week on their page. While Congress’ Rizwan Arshad has uploaded posts himself, independent candidate Prakash Raj has deputed a member to do it for him. BJP’s PC Mohan has not taken advantage of the platform and has not uploaded any post.
Said a member of the RWA: “Rizwan Arshad has uploaded his manifesto and vision in small chunks, which is twitter-friendly. He also responds to some comments.” Many of Mohan’s tweets are news articles or retweets of other BJP leaders, while Prakash Raj, apart from his personal handle, has created another handle for political tweets.
Negotiate for a policy that will allocate temporary housing to migrant workers till they can find or build permanen… https://t.co/GE4HIfKCeK
Speaking of its role in elections, social media influencer Tinu Cherian said, “I feel social media will not get direct votes but will set an agenda and perspective. I think two candidates are very active on social media – Krishna Byre Gowda and Rizwan Arshad.”
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There are attempts at humour, too. In a recent tweet, Bangalore North member of Parliament DV Sadananda Gowda, who has over 3,37,000 followers, posted a picture of him drinking a tender coconut without using a straw, a reference to Nikhil Kumaraswamy doing the same a few days ago. In the caption, Gowda says this is how he has always drunk tender coconut, and added #NotAStyle it’s #LifeStyle.
ನಾವು ಎಳನೀರು ಕುಡಿಯೋದೇ ಹೀಗೆ , #NotAStyle it’s #LifeStyle https://t.co/Sn2L3tVFOB
Poll-Pourri: Sunny Deol, Urmila & Other Stars Who've Joined Politics
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It's counting day today and all eyes are on the political scoreboard. From seasoned to the newbies, a bunch of stars are trying their luck at the polls today. Actor-producer Sunny Deol, Urmila Matondkar and Gautam Gambhir are hoping to score on their debuts today.
Here are some film stars who have dabbled in politics over the years.
It's counting day today and all eyes are on the political scoreboard. From seasoned to the newbies, a bunch of stars are trying their luck at the polls today. Actor-producer Sunny Deol, Urmila Mat..
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Weeks before the 17th Lok Sabha elections kicked off, actress Urmila Matondkar shook hands with the Indian National Congress (INC). The 45-year-old actress was welcomed in the party by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi.
The 'Rangeela' actress, who is contesting from the Mumbai North constituency against BJP MP Gopal Shetty, is hoping to score a victory.
Weeks before the 17th Lok Sabha elections kicked off, actress Urmila Matondkar shook hands with the Indian National Congress (INC). The 45-year-old actress was welcomed in the party by Congress chi..
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Actress Poonam Sinha, wife of actor Shatrughan Sinha, became a part of the SP in April this year. The 69-year-old is trying her luck against BJP leader and Home Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.
Actress Poonam Sinha, wife of actor Shatrughan Sinha, became a part of the SP in April this year. The 69-year-old is trying her luck against BJP leader and Home Minister Rajnath Singh from Lucknow.
Actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada's ongoing political career kicked off in 1994 when she joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). In 2004, the 57-year-old became a part of the Samajwadi Party (SP). However, in 2010, she was expelled due to anti-party activities.
In March this year, Prada joined BJP. She is set to take on her friend-turned-foe, SP's Azam Khan, from Rampur today.
Actress-turned-politician Jaya Prada's ongoing political career kicked off in 1994 when she joined the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). In 2004, the 57-year-old became a part of the Samajwadi Party (SP). ..
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Singer Hans Raj Hans first stint with politics was in 2009 when he joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He resigned from the party in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, he joined the Congress party. However, he did not feel welcome in the Rahul Gandhi-led party. In the same year, he switched to the BJP.
In the 17th Lok Sabha polls, the singer is competing against Congress's Udit Raj from North-west Delhi.
If he proves victorious today, he will be one of the leading Dalit faces from the party.
Singer Hans Raj Hans first stint with politics was in 2009 when he joined the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). He resigned from the party in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, he joined the Congress party. ..
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'Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai' actress Shilpa Shinde joined the Indian political scene this year. Before confirming the news, she had to face heavy trolling on social media.
Few weeks later, the 41-year-old confirmed that she was keen on contesting the elections on a Congress ticket from Mumbai.
The 'Bigg Boss 11' winner's fate in politics will be decided today.
'Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai' actress Shilpa Shinde joined the Indian political scene this year. Before confirming the news, she had to face heavy trolling on social media.
Few weeks later, the 41-year..
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Bengali actress Mimi Chakraborty debuted in the Indian political scene this year. The 30-year-old contested elections from Jadavpur constituency on a Trinamool Congress ticket (TMC).
Today's results could either mark the beginning of her political career or put it to an end to it altogether.
Bengali actress Mimi Chakraborty debuted in the Indian political scene this year. The 30-year-old contested elections from Jadavpur constituency on a Trinamool Congress ticket (TMC).
Today's res..
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Another popular star of Bengali cinema who walked into the political world is Nusrat Jahan.
The 28-year-old contested Lok Sabha elections from the Basirhat constituency in South Bengal.
Now, the results will tell if the actress is set to embark on a political career or not.
Another popular star of Bengali cinema who walked into the political world is Nusrat Jahan.
The 28-year-old contested Lok Sabha elections from the Basirhat constituency in South Bengal.
Now, ..
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Malayalam star Suresh Gopi has had a rather long political career starting from his college days itself.
The 60-year-old, who was an active member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), was sworn as an MP for the Rajya Sabha in 2016. Later in the same year, Gopi joined the BJP.
This year, Gopi contested from Thrissur constituency. Today's poll results will tell what's next on the actor's to-do list.
Malayalam star Suresh Gopi has had a rather long political career starting from his college days itself.
The 60-year-old, who was an active member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM..
Read More
Actor, director and producer Prakash Raj stepped into the world of politics in 2017. The 54-year-old initiated a political movement with the hashtag #justasking after the assassination of journalist Gauri Lankesh.
This year, the 'Dabangg 2' actor contested as an independent candidate from Bengaluru central. He was pitted against Congress's Rizwan Arshad.
Going by the results, the actor is currently trailing in his constituency.
Actor, director and producer Prakash Raj stepped into the world of politics in 2017. The 54-year-old initiated a political movement with the hashtag #justasking after the assassination of journalis..
