Since the announcement of the assembly election, every time the mobile phone vibrates with a new message, there is this general ‘fear’ whether it is an invitation from another candidate to join another WhatsApp group.
Mainstream political parties seem so panicked by the instant messaging service that it seems that there are many WhatsApp groups as candidates to expand the reach of their campaign.
“The separate WhatsApp group for each candidate appears to be a latent event that has gone viral as before in an election and they act as a bridge between the candidates and the media among other things. Of Sethu Raj, campaign coordinator of the United House Democratic Front. States that it is impossible for media houses to follow all candidates in all constituencies and where WhatsApp works, disseminating information and even arranging special stories. Wipen candidate Deepak Joy.
Groups become active from 7.30 am and start with posts on the schedule of candidates for the day, followed by a continuous flow of pictures and short videos and reports of going late at night. A full report highlighting the campaign trail for the day is recorded in the evening ahead of the newspaper deadline.
“We liaise with the candidates’ local campaign coordinators and their inputs are curated for public groups,” says AS Satesh, a freelance photographer involved with WhatsApp content handling of multiple candidates.
Sherin Varghese, Ernakulam District Congress Committee general secretary and media in-charge, campaigns for door-to-door visits to Facebook public meetings and WhatsApp posts. However, he warns the WhatsApp campaign of working in silos for the benefit of parties and candidates, enabling them to sell different opinions to different interest groups, which would not be possible in an offline campaign.
“WhatsApp helps maintain an easily accessible virtual library for shaping social media campaigns. WhatsApp status is also used by our activists as an effective messaging tool as it helps them overcome the ban on politics among the many groups of people to which they are part. After all, choosing WhatsApp status is a personal matter and no one can stop it, ”he says.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has resumed its social media campaign as a high-tech media campaign for this assembly election, sees WhatsApp as a suitable medium to reach circles beyond the party’s committed base. is.
“We already have different groups at different levels of the party and groups of candidates have been started as it helps to reach a diverse audience based on the profile of the candidates concerned. We also do digital conclaves, which are broadcast on our social media platforms.
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