Assembly polls: Parties riding social media for outreach

SHILLONG, Dec 7: Some political parties are hiring agencies from outside to run their social media campaigns for the upcoming Assembly elections.
Holding large rallies, meetings and door-to-door campaigns are very much part of the game but the political parties are warming up two months ahead of the poll for reaching out to the voters through social media platforms.
If the National People’s Party (NPP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) are not advertising on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, individuals and groups are using these platforms to praise the parties and their leaders.
The TMC has been using the services of IPAC for a year now. The agency is running a few social media pages of the Mamata Banerjee-led party to roast the leaders of Meghalaya’s ruling coalition over various issues.
The NPP is learnt to have hired a social media agency to wax eloquent about it. The agency has been meeting state-based YouTubers, providing them with campaign-related content for uploading on their respective channels.
The state BJP has also reportedly woken up to the power of social media. The party has started a programme for people to join by giving a missed call to a specific phone number.
It is also putting up banners and hoardings at strategic locations for maximum impact. Besides, the BJP has roped in local cabbies for sporting the party banner.
“We have not hired any agency from outside. Our own party workers are handling publicity through all forms of media,” a BJP leader said.