BJP, JD(S) create WhatsApp groups to woo voters

As canvassing for the upcoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections gets intense with each passing day, more and more candidates are aggressively adopting the online medium.

While door-to-door canvassing is still the preferred mode of reaching out to voters, two main parties, the BJP and the JD(S), are quite active on social media too. The BJP is especially harnessing the tool and its candidates are extensively using Facebook, Twi­t­ter and WhatsApp platforms. A number of IT professionals have taken leave from work to be part of the BJP’s online campaign team. Their strategy is to ensure the party’s candidates get the maximum exposure on social media.

A co-ordinator working for the BJP candidate in Shakambari Nagar said that they have created a WhatsApp group and added many citizens to it. Regular messages are being sent to the group’s members, telling them about the “good work” carried out by the former corporator of the BJP and why people should vote for them again.

Not lagging behind is the JD(S) which maintains a website, Facebook and Twitter pages and Whatsapp groups. Sources in the JD(S) office said that the party was dishing out regular updates and had a dedicated team to keep its social media campaign alive. The JD(S) has created at least 80 WhatsApp groups through its workers, on which the performance of the party’s former corporators are being plugged.