Social media not a game changer here

The Congress and the BJP’s preoccupation with virtual war rooms and strategies to beat the other through the use of social media, may not be a game changer not only in the politically crucial states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar but also in the ‘more educated’ states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

When the Samajwadi Party (SP) announced that it would give free tablets and laptops to high school-pass students, it was felt that the party might be trying to get friendly with the social media users, especially the youth, and garner their support in general elections.

A year-and-a-half later, all such hopes stand belied. While the tablet scheme has not yet taken off, the laptops were meant to help village students compete with those in the cities.

“There is no substitute for door-to-door campaigning...we get to meet the voters face to face...it strengthens our relationship”, said an SP leader  though he conceded that more and more youths were getting hooked to the social media. “It is not a game changer”, he remarked.

BJP spokesman Vijay Bahadur Pathak, however, feels that social media has become important. “Traditional methods of campaign are  useful but one cannot ignore social media”, he said.

Congress leaders also feel that social media does play a significant role in the Lok Sabha elections though they doubt if it would be of use among ‘rural voters’.

While the saffron party did use the cyberspace in the last assembly polls, the Congress and the SP concentrated on the traditional methods.

Personal rapport beats all

In Bihar also past experience has shown that personal rapport counted most. The BJP’s attempt to reach the voters through SMSes during the recent  Lok Sabha by-election for Maharajganj constituency did not result in the victory of its nominee. On the other hand, a door-to-door campaign by the rival RJD proved to be successful.

“We are an orthodox/conservative party, which believes in conventional method of wooing the voters,” said Bihar RJD president Ram Chandra Purve, dismissing BJP’s move to connect with its voters through mobile and internet.

The BJP’s estranged partner – the JD (U) - too echoes the view. “The gizmos could work in urban areas, but in rural areas you need to meet your voter with folded hands,” said JD (U) legislator and key Nitish aide, Neeraj Kumar. The Congress, however, laughs at the BJP move to connect with its voters through Facebook, Twitter or tele-conferencing.

Left goes geeky too

In Kerala, youth movements affiliated to the Left parties have increasingly warmed up to the idea of social networking. The many Facebook community pages put together by these organisations – most of them with Che Guevara pictures on profiles – perhaps reflect the trend. But elections are a different ballgame and cadre-powered parties like the CPM continue to swear by the tried and tested mass contact way.

The Congress leaders acknowledge it’s time to supplement traditional campaigning methods. Ranjith Balan, the party’s state IT advisor, said nothing could replace the impact of a face-to-face interaction but the focus was on targeting a niche audience with an ever-widening reach.

In Tamil Nadu also the ruling AIADMK was not into cyberspace and relied on grassroot workers to get to the people and enquire about their aspirations, problems and also suggest solutions. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha also recently clarified that she was not on Twitter after someone posted messages on the micro-blogging site using her name.

Inputs: Abhay Kumar in Bihar, Krishna Kumar in Kerala and R Sathyanarayana in Tamil Nadu.