Himanta joins Koo, sends first message in Assamese; more from north east join desi micro-blogging platform

GUWAHATI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday switched to Koo, the latest Indian micro-blogging and social networking service that has crossed 6.5 million users in one year since its launch.
Sarma, known to be the architect of BJP’s fortunes in the northeast, is one of the most popular political figures in the country. With more than one million followers, he is one of the most-followed account holders on Twitter from the northeastern region. The launch of Koo in the Assamese language drew the incumbent CM’s attention to the desi micro-blogging site, as mother tongue Assamese has always been a priority language for him.
Sarma’s first Koo in Assamese read, “I am delighted that the Koo app has launched the Assamese language on Koo with me joining the platform. The app is enabling the people of Assam to voice their thoughts and opinions in their mother tongue. Looking forward to engaging with people on the Koo app. I will be Kooing my opinions, announcements and many more updates here. I wish Koo the very best in their future endeavours.”
Ace sportspersons from the northeast, MC Mary Kom, Bhaichung Bhutia and Hima Das are on Koo, too. Union sports minister, Kiren Rijiju, also from the northeast, joined the platform that is becoming a favourite among social media users preferring a regional flavour.
Aprameya Radhakrishna, co-founder and CEO, Koo, was excited to have the Assam CM onboard. “We are very happy to have Himanta Biswa Sarma Ji on our platform. We are even more excited about the fact that the first Koo in Assamese is his and that he’s launched Assamese on Koo. I’m sure the people of Assam would love to interact with him and each other on Koo and exchange thoughts around various topics,” he said.
Assam has a population of over 30 million and the people have an affinity towards Assamese, their lingua franca. “Koo will be one of the few platforms where they will be able to connect, exchange thoughts in Assamese and make new friends too,” Radhakrishna added.
To date, Koo was available in eight languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi and Bengali. In Assam, it aims to provide a platform to non-English users or people who are more comfortable in their regional language. The Koo platform helps people to interact, discuss and raise their voice for the problems associated with their states. Koo officials said that they hope the new platform will help to promote the vivid culture of the northeastern states inhabited by diverse communities and tribes. Koo is available in 92 other countries, including India.
Mayank Bidawatka, co-founder, Koo, said, “I’m sure the people of Assam will enjoy Koo just like the rest of the country. We have enabled the Assamese keyboard on Koo making it very easy for them to connect in their mother tongue. They will be able to create, share their thoughts in audio and video formats too, apart from the text. This multi-modal creation is unique to Koo. I hope to see a large population from the state use this platform to connect in a way like never before!”
Users can connect with the CM on his handle @himantabiswa. Many celebrities are expected to join the platform soon. They will be interacting with the people of the state in the ‘Assamiya’ or ‘Assamese’ language on the platform.
In a country where just 10% of India speaks English, a Koo release said there’s a deep need for a social media platform that can deliver immersive language experiences to Indian users and help them connect