After BJP, Congress to formally launch website to invite public suggestion for manifesto

Campaigning is not just limited to public rallies and speeches anymore. The two main parties in the Indian polity — Congress and BJP — have taken the battle to another level by aggressively promoting their parties on social media and the online world.

Just days after its arch-rival BJP launched a website inviting suggestions from voters for its election manifesto for 2014 elections, the Congress too has floated a platform to invite suggestions from the public.

Congress scion Rahul Gandhi is expected to formally launch the website  — incmanifesto.com — at a rally in Alwar, Rajasthan on Wednesday. Rahul is in Rajasthan campaigning for the party. He addressed a rally in Churu and is scheduled to address another in Alwar shortly.

The brainchild of Rahul Gandhi, the website, which shows pictures of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, has a detailed form for users to give their suggestions.

Even though BJP is already on the top of the game by launching its site, the Congress site claims, "The Congress is the first party to open up its national manifesto-building process to the general public. In addition to this web site, the Congress Party is holding direct public consultations across the country to empower the voice of those who do not have access to the Internet."

The Congress' attempts to go all out on the social media can be seen as an effort to outdo BJP, which has a heavy presence in cyber space.