Ahead of West Bengal elections, political party mikes blare on social media

In a bid to reach out to the young generation, the Trinamool Congress, the CPI-M, the Congress and the BJP have come up with innovative ideas to make their presence felt in the digital space through their top leaders.

Topping the chart is the Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is not only a regular user of Facebook and Twitter, but is also the most popular face there. Banerjee’s Facebook page is being liked by near about 16 lakh people and her Twitter handle Mamata Banerjee@Mamataofficial has more than 2.6 lakh followers. 

TMC’s national spokesperson Derek O’Brien, who is one of the active on social media, said that apart from regular Facebook and Twitter posts, the party from next week would use YouTube and other platforms as well. “We will have small audio visual capsules which will be there in television channels and YouTube. We will use all forms of social media to reach out to the masses and propagate the developmental work,” he said.

The CPI-M, which was once vehemently against the introduction of computers in India on the ground that it would mean loss of jobs for the working class, is also using the social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter in order to reach out to the young voters. 

Front-ranking CPI-M leaders like politburo member and state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra, CPI-M MP and politburo member Mohammed Salim, prominent face Sujan Chakraborty, youth leader Ritabrata Banerjee are regular users of Facebook and Twitter. 

“Facebook and Twitter have a democratic space where you can place your views within a few seconds and can reach lakhs of people within a minute. At times media houses are driven by their own policies, but in social media you are your boss, you can place your views, participate in a debate,” CPI-M state secretariat member Sridip Bhattacharya, who is in-charge of the social media segment of the CPI-M, said. 

The CPI-M on its official Twitter handle “CPI(M) speaks” and Facebook page on a regular basis are uploading pics and posters of candidates who are contesting the elections.

Senior Congress leaders like Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Omprakash Mishra too are regular on Facebook. The BJP, on the other hand, though lacking in the organisational strength, has pulled out all stops to reach the masses through the digital media.