JOIN USThe CPM, which is contesting from four Assembly constituencies in Dakshina Kannada, has jumped on to the social media bandwagon to campaign for votes.
Though the traditional mode of canvassing such as door-to-door campaign, meetings have been taken up by the candidates, all the four candidates have begun their campaigns on social media. Through Facebook posts, the party and its leaders are seeking to reconnect with the masses and the youth in particular. Facebook has been used for candidate profiles and their day-to-day activities ahead of the polls.
Advocate Nithin Kumar Kuthar is contesting from Mangaluru constituency while DYFI state president Muneer Katipalla will contest from Mangaluru North, CITU district secretary Sunil Kumar Bajal from Mangaluru South and Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha district committee secretary K Yadav Shetty from Mulki-Moodbidri constituency. The CPM had announced its candidates much before the announcement of the Assembly election.
A post in social media reads: "Mangalore, time for revolution. Choose #for a better future..." All the posts have postings on "progress through harmony" and "no compromise on corruption."
In fact, the CPM was strong in Dakshina Kannada during the initial years. Late B V Kakkilaya was elected to Karnataka state Assembly from Bantwal with the highest margin in 1972 and from Vittal constituency in 1978.
In Ullal (present Mangaluru) constituency, the CPM won in 1983 with Ramachandra Rao as MLA. In fact, CPI candidate A Krishna Shetty won from Ullal constituency in 1962. Over a period of time, the CPM lost its powerful existence in Dakshina Kannada.
The Facebook posts of the candidates has updates on their meeting with the Akshara Dasoha workers, construction workers, youths and in the colonies.
As the candidates are announced well in advacnce, posters, banners were put up in different parts of Mangaluru, Mangaluru North, Mangaluru South and Moodbidri constituencies before the announcement of election by the Election Commission of India.
Further, there are also posts on younger generation extending their support to the party.
Speaking to DH, District CPM unit secretary K Vasanth Achary said that the CPM has deputed a team to update candidates on social media. The team has been updating about the candidates and also about the CPM's intervention in the problems haunting street vendors, mid-day meal workers, evening colleges, help rendered by the CPM leaders when patients suffered at hospitals, sites for poor against the pollution in Surathkal region and so on. Further, the posts also highlight the failure of the sitting MLAs in solving the problems in the respective Assembly constituencies. The social media posts will also post on the future works needed to be taken up in the Assembly constituencies.
One of the posts read: "Even before the State government came out with Indira Canteen, the CPM had attracted the attention of the government through its protest against rise in prices of food items in hotels and had demanded subsidised food for the labour class...."