Kerala contestants turn to social media for campaigning

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Catching up with changing trends, several candidates in Kerala, including Union Minister Shashi Tharoor, are turning to social media, which appears to be a more effective campaign tool.

Though several other contestants for the April 10 Lok Sabha polls from different political formations and parties use social media, Tharoor makes a difference by using it as a medium for not just to convey his themes but to interact with the voters on major issues.

A former UN under secretary general, Tharoor is facing a stiff challenge from the CPI's debutant Bennet Abraham and senior BJP leader O Rajagopal in Kerala capital.

Tharoor has vitrually gone live making minute-by-minute postings of his campaign through Facebook.

As 10 per cent of the voters in the 2014 election are youngsters, the social media was the best way to reach them, said Akhil Ratheesh, a voter active on Facebook.

The writer-turned politician has also made an online request through his fan page to send in suggestions and pose questions that would be useful for the development of his constituency.

Other candidates using social media for campaigning include state Youth Congress President Dean Kuriakose, contesting from Idukki, and T Siddique, also from Congress seeking mandate from Kasargode.

Many of the LDF candidates have fan pages where their supporters seek vote for them.

Though not a candidate, CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been active on Facebook for the last several months.

Vijayan has found Facebook as an effective medium to share his views on a host of issues and his page has been flooded with 'likes'.