Parties bank on door-to-door campaigning

THE BY-ELECTION FOR THE DHARAMSHALA ASSEMBLY SEGMENT IS SLATED FOR OCT 21 AND RESULT WILL BE DECLARED ON OCT 24

DHARAMSHALA:EVEN as the by-election for the Dharamshala assembly segment is inching closer, candidates of both ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and opposition Congress are relying heavily on traditional door-to-door campaign and social media to woo voters.

Apart from the public meetings held on the day of filing nominations, neither the BJP nor the Congress has organised any rally like they did during the assembly or general elections. The by-election for the Dharamshala assembly segment is slated for October 21 and the result will be declared on October 24.

The main political parties have fielded new faces for the bypoll necessitated after former minister Kishan Kapoor, who represented Dharamshala assembly segment for five-terms, was elected to Lok Sabha in May.

BJP candidate Vishal Nehria said, “Our door-to-door campaign is going very well. This is the most effective mode as we get an opportunity to interact with each and every voter personally.”

Nehria said several teams of the BJP are spread out in the constituency and carrying out doorto-door campaign in their concerned locality.

After the locality team completes the first round of outreach activity, the candidate visits the locality and holds a small meeting with voters.

The BJP has divided the constituency into four zones with senior leaders overseeing the election campaign in each zone.

He said apart from the door-todoor campaign, a dedicated team is also reaching out to young voters through social media.

Videos and photos of daily activities are also uploaded on social media, including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to influence the voters.

Chief minister (CM) Jai Ram Thakur will hit the campaign trail in Dharamshala on Friday and will address eight public meetings in various localities, he said, adding “May be a bigger rally will be held on the final day of campaigning.”

To counter the BJP strategy, the Congress party is too relying on door-to-door campaign to connect with the voters. Congress candidate Vijay Inder Karan said he had a very strong team of youth who are visiting different localities of Dharamshala town and surrounding villages. “I am too trying to cover as much area as possible as more than a week’s time is left for the election,” said Karan adding that in door-todoor campaign the candidate gets a chance to know the voters and their aspirations.

“Yes, social media is also a tool for campaigning and we are effectively using all the platforms to reach out to the voters,” he added. Rakesh Chaudhary, a BJP rebel, who is contesting as an independent said, while the candidates of BJP and Congress are doing doorto-door campaign only during election, he is doing so for last two-and-a-half years.

“I have visited almost every house in the rural part of the constituency and am hopeful that voters will reject Congress and BJP ,” he said.