Candidates turn on social media campaign mode

SHILLONG, April 16: Candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls have embarked on campaigning across the parliamentary constituencies, utilising various mediums, including social media.
Ampareen Lyngdoh and Agatha Sangma, NPP candidates for the Shillong and Tura parliamentary seats respectively, have extensively utilised social media, sharing carefully crafted posts, posters, campaign schedules, and multimedia content with their followers.
They also informed the schedule of their public meetings, requesting for their supporters to be present.
Similarly, Zenith Sangma, TMC candidate from Tura, affiliated with the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), maintains a relatively low profile on his personal social media account. However, the AITC official account consistently updates followers with his campaign activities and excerpts from his speeches.
Ricky Syngkon, the VPP candidate, reportedly lacks his own personal account on platforms like ‘X’ or Instagram. Nevertheless, the ‘Ha U Prah’ slogan is ubiquitous across social media platforms, predominantly through bot accounts with single digit followers.
Similarly, Congress candidates Vincent Pala for the Shillong constituency and Saleng Sangma for Tura exhibit contrasting social media engagement. Pala remains active on his personal account, sharing posters, particularly on ‘X’, while Saleng’s presence is scarce online, reportedly focusing on grassroots campaigning.
Saleng Sangma, active on Instagram, shares videos and images of beaches and scenery from his personal vacation trips, but notably absent are posts from campaign trips.
The Meghalaya Congress page on ‘X’ which is active, also fails to compensate for Sangma’s absence.
Robertjune Kharjahrin, the RDA candidate, remains active, sharing messages on both his personal Instagram account and the United Democratic Party’s page.