Politics, the virtual way

Street corner election rallies make way for politics in 140 characters. Canvassing for political causes is storming the cyberspace, vying for the attention of nearly 165 million internet users in the country.

No wonder, political parties are putting in place teams of cyber warriors to reach out to this section of the electorate which include a large chunk of voters who would exercise their franchise for the first time in the upcoming elections.

As an impatient Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in his new avatar as the BJP’s poll campaign chief gears up to oust the 10-year-old UPA from the Centre, it is this section of voters, mostly residing in and around urban centres, who would be the most sought after.

A recent report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India has identified 160 Lok Sabha constituencies of the total 543 as ‘high impact’ with regard to social media. Another 67 constituencies are expected to see a moderate impact during the general election scheduled for next year.

The BJP could well be credited with making first attempts – though unsuccessful – to use the new media avenues thrown up by the growth in internet and mobile users when Pramod Mahajan launched the high voltage ‘India Shining’ campaign for the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

Campaigning for elections has come a long way since 2004 with a number of social networking platforms taking root in the virtual space and being used by millions to share information, interact or just to put across their point of view.

Modi made effective use of this alternate medium to create a narrative over the Gujarat growth story when traditional media – both print and television hounded him for the excesses in the 2002 riots. The BJP leader used a mix of social media platforms and public relations firms to project himself as a self-declared prime ministerial candidate and an “effective” alternative to incumbent Manmohan Singh.

Modi is one of the most followed political leaders on social media platforms like Facebook, where his official page has over three million ‘likes’. His Twitter handle @narendramodi has over two million followers. Any negative comment on Modi in the virtual world attracts instant rejoinders.

Other BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj, also use Twitter while veteran leader L K Advani is an active blogger.

The BJP was quick to gauge the impact to use this strength in the cyberspace, organise it and use these cyber warriors to effectively put across its point of view in the virtual world. The IT Cell of the BJP has started a campaign on Facebook to attract new voters and its prominent leaders participate in online chat sessions to engage the netizens.

It has plans to recruit one million people who would run the BJP campaign on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. These people will not be the BJP cadre but those sympathetic towards the party. The BJP would make available to them campaign material and information kits. Such teams would also be expected to reach out to rural India through SMS.

The BJP has also launched a new website – india272.com – which is expected to serve as a platform for the general public to provide inputs to shape the party’s electoral campaign.

‘Pappu’, a trigger

The Congress woke up to this challenge in a real sense only when its Vice President Rahul Gandhi was ridiculed as “pappu” (naïve) on the social media for his April 4 speech at the Confederation of Indian Industry in Delhi. The Congress netizens hit back within days by dubbing Modi as ‘feku’ (one who boasts) when he addressed the FICCI Ladies Organisation.

The realisation of using social media had dawned on the Congress at the chintan shivir in January this year, with the party talking of investing up to Rs 100 crore to beef up its presence in the virtual world.

Speaking at the launch of the National Media Centre in Delhi on Saturday, Congress President Sonia Gandhi admitted that she faced difficulty in grasping the “urgent and terse texts” characterised by the digital media.

The Congress decided to blend its campaign with the UPA government, which earmarked Rs 600 crore for the next five years to popularise government schemes. Of this, Rs 180 crore is expected to be used before the 2014 elections.

The grand old party has also decided to revamp its media departments across the states as ‘communications department’ with separate wings for social media and research. Last month, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi launched internet-based information sharing platform khidkee.com for its spokespersons across the country.

Ironically, the Congress has turned to the tech-savvy Union Minister of State for HRD Shashi Tharoor to train its cyber warriors in the use of social media. “No politician will turn away from an audience of even 100 people, so who will turn away from an audience in millions,” asked Tharoor, referring to the power of social media.

The Congress has put young MP Deepender Hooda in charge of its social media wing and he will be supported by a team of 50 researchers, coordinated by party spokesman Sandeep Dikshit. The party is also revamping its presence on the internet by revamping its website.

Patchy and individual

In other political parties the use of social media platforms appears patchy or individual driven. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is active on Twitter, but the same cannot be true of his party, National Conference.

Senior leaders like NCP’s Sharad Pawar also have Twitter accounts but are used sparingly. Some young leaders from the Biju Janata Dal are active on Twitter and Facebook but the same may not be true of their party.

Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party, who may play a key role in government formation if 2014 elections throw up a hung House, are also not too active in the cyberspace. Tamil Nadu parties DMK and AIADMK are personality driven. DMK chief M Karunanidhi has an active official Facebook page.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar are known to reach out to people through Facebook.