Campaigning has officially ended. Political parties, candidates and their supporters are not allowed to campaign openly once the deadline to stop public campaigning expires. The stricture does not apply to social media, however. Hence, politicians are resorting to this new tool to reach out to their prospective voters.
What are social media's advantages?
An advocate, Mahendra Sandhansiv, said social media was a very effective tool to convey messages free of cost. "More than Facebook, WhatsApp is now being used widely to spread political messages. A group can have 50 members and these 50 can reach a multitude. So, sitting at home, a party or candidate can reach many people. Maharashtra is an urbanised state and many people use smart phones. Therefore, it's very easy to use social media for campaigning," said Sandhanshiv.
What's the nature of appeal?
The nature of appeal differs from party to party. Sagar Patil (32), a Shiv sainik from Byculla, told dna that in Mumbai Marathi voters had been polarised. "We have been forwarding emotional messages appealing to our friends as well as people in my age group. People are emotionally attached to the Sena. The insecurity over making Mumbai a Union Territory has forced Marathi voters to unite. Our texts contain the message that 'Sena is needed in Mumbai if Marathi manoos have to survive', and that otherwise, they would be thrown out (of Mumbai) making them jobless," said Patil.
Dinesh Wagh, a Thane resident, said they were mostly sending morphed pictures poking fun of BJP and Congress campaigns. "Social media is a very simple and effective communication tool. We are not making any vitriolic attack on our opponents, but are spreading messages on the importance of our candidates and their work. If s/he is elected and the party comes to power, what kind of projects s/he would undertake for the constituency, etc," said Wagh.
What's BJP strategy?
A BJP leader said as part of the strategy, the party had decided not to attack or target Sena. "Had we attacked them, the fight would have been more fierce. We did not want to give importance to Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, so we have only been targeting Congress-NCP. We have been sending only positive messages to the people. We will continue to do so till the end of the official voting time," he said.
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