'Namma Kumaranna' to reach out to voters on social media

JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy is going all out to reach out to the masses and media ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections. As a first step, he has made his presence felt on five social media platforms — Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, GooglePlus and SoundCloud. These are his personal accounts. He formally launched them on Monday in Vidhana Soudha, branding himself as ‘Namma Kumaranna’.

Addressing the media, Kumaraswamy said his aim is to keep in touch effectively and directly with people and media through social media, which is gaining popularity in both urban and rural areas.

Though he did not admit that he is following the Narenda Modi model in using social media, he said in Uttar Pradesh, there were 11,000 WhatsApp members supporting Modi.

“I am not saying I am following Modi. But we need to use social media to reach out to people. I will interact with people on Facebook for three to four hours on a specific day in a month,” he added.

He said his speeches across the state would be stored on SoundCloud. On YouTube, his programmes and media interactions would be uploaded. He would tweet and post on Facebook his reactions to developments and issues.

Though he used a couple of social media platforms to promote himself during the 2013 elections, he did not continue with it. But this time, he said he would keep himself active on the platforms as long as he is in public life.

He said a team of 30 to 35 people will manage his online networks. “There are many groups on Facebook supporting me. Members of these groups will hold an interaction with me on April 15 at Jnana Jyothi auditorium, Bengaluru, from 10 am to 9 pm,” he added.