After the announcement of assembly poll schedule in five states by the Election Commission, the political temperature in the poll-bound states of U.P., Uttarakhand, Goa, Manipur and Punjab is rising gradually with poll-related activities gaining momentum gradually.
As the Election Commission has put restrictions on holding public rallies till January 15 in view of the rising Covid cases, major political parties are gearing up to opt for digital mode in the forthcoming polls beginning from February 10 and lasting till March 7. Counting of votes will be taken up on March 10.
All eyes are riveted on the country’s most populous state Uttar Pradesh which is also the most crucial in terms of its sheer size and the number of assembly seats. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), under the chief ministership of Yogi Adityanath, and the projection of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the party’s star campaigner and main vote catcher, aims to retain power in Uttar Pradesh.
Virtual campaigning is something which is slowly becoming a reality in Uttar Pradesh. While the ruling BJP has skilfully utilised social media platforms and can boast of a good presence, the Samajwadi Party (SP) is also making efforts to strengthen its digital arm and thrashing out newer strategies in this area.
BJP’s state media in-charge Manish Dixit said the party is working on a strategy for virtual campaigns and party workers have been given the task of associating people on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms.
The SP too has started beaming live press conferences of its leader and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on its YouTube channel. SP’s national spokesperson Ashutosh Verma said the party is working on devising ways of reaching out to the people in rural areas as they are not readily hooked on to digital platforms. The stress, he said, is on associating youths in rural areas on WhatsApp groups.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also inching its way up in U.P. by highlighting its agenda of reforms in power, health, water and education and linking up people through social media platforms and reaching out to the voters individually. The party has made separate social media cells for different regions of U.P. like Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand and others and will focus on local issues of that particular region.
The Congress already has its presence on social media platforms and plans to reach out to the people right from the booth level. The party is also making plans for launching virtual campaigns.
For now, the parties in U.P. appear to be latching on to social media platforms. Smartphones may well prove to be a new tool of poll campaign as Covid has put a brake on big rallies and gatherings.