Thiruvananthapuram: Political parties in Kerala have taken the digital route for election campaigning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even though many candidates would not directly turn up at your house, both the party and the candidates would be available on the smartphones. Instead of fiery speeches made at crowded junctions, the leaders will make waves on the Facebook page.
The State Election Commission had announced the local body polls last week.
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The CPM has officially instructed its cadres to put their smartphones to maximum use for the party. Also, people, who are vocal about their Leftist stance on social media, have been identified and their support sought. The party has a strong digital network that extends from the AKG Centre, the party headquarters, to the local committees.
CPM state committee member V Shivadasan has said that the aim was to have a professional system that would ensure that the party's stance and opinions reach the maximum number of people.
Bharatiya Janata Party
The BJP kicked off its digital campaigning by urging people to turn up to cast their vote in the polls. WhatsApp groups have been set up till the booth-level. Apart from party members, WhatsApp groups with the kin of the members have also been created. The admin of the group will be a BJP member.
BJP general secretary George Kurian said, "The flaws in the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF, and the development agenda of the BJP would be shared with the maximum number of people."
Congress
The Congress has deployed a team, Janashakthi, for the local body polls. There will be four resource persons in each ward. The team will be tasked with ensuring that posts and videos, created by the digital team of the KPCC-DCC, are shared to the maximum number of people in the ward. This will be in addition to the WhatsApp groups of the UDF.
KPCC digital media cell convener Raju P Nair said that Janashakthi would help the party to overcome the hurdles in reaching out to maximum people owing to curbs on gathering due to COVID.
