Election campaign in Bihar gets tech touch

PATNA: After the announcement of Lok Sabha election dates by the Election Commission of India, the information technology (IT) cells of all major political parties in state – BJP, Congress, JD (U) and RJD – have become active.

The ‘cyber army’ of all parties are leaving no stone unturned to influence voters and garner their support. With the number of youth voters rising in the state, the IT cells of different parties have made younger generation their target group

Over 5,000 BJP volunteers are working 24x7 to meet the goal of reaching out to voters at booth level. Manish Kumar Pandey, IT and social media convener of state BJP, said 50 to 60 experts in the fields of graphic designing and research analysis are also working with the volunteers to cover analytical and technical aspects of electioneering.

“We look for social media users who are fans of PM Narendra Modi and hardcore supporters of BJP. We reach out to them and train them on how to make appropriate posts on social media platforms that can go viral within seconds and gain maximum shares and likes,” Pandey said.

“This time, even regional parties are using social media extensively to reach out to voters. Hence, our work has become all the more challenging,” Pandey added.

BJP’s social media incharge for Bihar Narendra Ojha said the team also coordinates with the national cell. “The four-layered structure of the IT cell – block, district, state and national – ensures that the achievements of the party are highlighted in rural as well as urban areas,” Ojha said.

The JD(U)’s IT cell functions from the bungalow of party MLC Lalan Kumar Saraf at Rajvanshi Nagar. “We had started our work way before the announcement of election dates,” said Amardeep, president of JD(U) media cell.

The 700-member team running the IT cell of JD(U) is a mixture of representatives from all 534 blocks along with data experts, corporates, designers and editors. “People have been divided into different teams and they work accordingly to accomplish their targets. There is a research team, which looks after the work of leaders from opposition parties and their loopholes,” Amardeep said.

The IT cell of Congress is also actively working in the poll arena. Its main team functions from the state headquarters of the party at Sadaqat Ashram here.

The Congress is, however, lagging behind other parties in making its presence felt at booth level through social media. Sanjeev Singh, chairman of IT cell of Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC), told this newspaper on Thursday that though there are 26,000 booth level coordinators, the party hasn’t been able to reach out to all the booths yet.

“All the IT cell members are dedicated party workers. We are also in talks with some private firms in Delhi and Bengaluru for engaging a professional team in the election work,” Singh added.

RJD’s social media cell primarily functions from 10, Circular Road bungalow of former Bihar CM and party’s national vice-president Rabri Devi. “At least seven to eight experts are working directly under leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav at 10, Circular Road. They handle Twitter handle of Tejashwi, Laluji and party’s Facebook account,” a senior RJD functionary said.