Social media: A bit of wit raises the pitch for votes

Deepti Verma in Chandigarh

The virtual world is an idea whose time has come. You may grin, gripe, grind and roast instantly. Poll time is when opinions become thrust-guns as perceptibly simmering popular angst is put on the boil to dish out sharp innuendos. The winners are seldom recognized; they are glorified as media strategists as honesty gets a double meaning: the wit of ‘likes.’ Enter the war rooms of principal contenders:

AAP in action mode

“The Punjab page on Facebook was created in 2012. By 2014 we had just 2 lakh likes, which rose to 3 lakh in the beginning of 2015. But as we became active in the virtual world, there has been no looking back. Punjab needs change and people are joining us to be a part of that change,” says Pulkit Sharma (22), AAP’s social media coordinator in Punjab. The day’s social media content for this young enthusiastic netizen is placed under three major categories: daily political lines (considering updates in the political world), event covering (of campaigns/rallies organised by the party) and creative art (comprising videos, graphics and cartoons/illustrations).

“Our team sleeps together, eats together and works together. The day is planned the previous night and when we are not sleeping, we are working,” says Pulkit as he shows photos of his teammates slithered under quilts with food in one hand and a tablet in the other. “This is how we work.” 

Congress

The party’s focus is on aggression but without hitting below the belt. “We are using the social media to reach out to people besides gathering feedback on the party’s decisions. We are both proactive and reactive in the virtual world,” says a Congress spokesperson.

“Our Punjab page was created six months ago and considering the short duration we are doing really well. We don’t believe in numbers but the impact. Numbers can be fake,” says Raveen Thukral, media strategist for Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh.

On their strategy to counter attacks, which increased sharply since Navjot Singh Sidhu joined the party, he said: “Our agenda is development. We invest our resources in monitoring voters’ feedback.”

SAD’s plans

It claims to focus on positive campaigning and promoting the development carried out by the government in the past decade. The party’s Punjab page runs parallel with that of its chief Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Parminder Singh Brar, social media in-charge of the Akali Dal, said: “We focus on our leader Sukhbir. We promote him and the work he has done for the people of Punjab. His followers are dedicated unlike AAP, which doesn’t even have a party face in Punjab.” He said: “The difference between Akali leaders and others is that pages of all SAD MLAs are verified, which shows our transparent approach.”

BJP strategy

It runs a separate online campaign to reach out to its voters. With “Joga Jeeto khari khari” cartoon series wherein a Sikh couple discusses issues affecting the common man, the party has been able to use wit to hit the right chords. 

“The series was the brainchild of state party chief Vijay Sampla. Two persons have been specially flown in from Hyderabad just to colour those illustrations online,” says Vineet Joshi, BJP’s state in-charge for the social media. 

“Three months ago we set up our social media unit and recruited professional graphic designers, photo and video editors, copy writers, data analysts, illustrators and many youngsters adept in handling online tools. Considering the ever-so-fast online activities, sleeping past 2 am and waking up around 5.30 am is a norm now,” he says.