Bihar BJP will use social media to prepare for polls

Restricted campaigning will be done to conform to social distancing norms to check spread of Covid-19.

To bypass the limitations of physical campaigning due to Covid-19, the BJP will be aggressively using social media platforms and other similar audio-video mediums in the coming Assembly elections in Bihar to reach out to rech out to around 7.19 crore voters.

The Bihar state unit is now appointing at least one individual in its “Shakti Kendras” with a background of Information and Technology who is adept at using social media at the panchayat level.

“Shakti Kendra” is a term given to a team of six to eight booth-level party workers who are present at every booth.

State party leaders said that the party had taken the decision to aggressively use social media mediums at the very basic panchayat level as it is being forecast that there will be severe restrictions on physical political campaigning due to Covid-19 if the elections are not postponed and happen in October as scheduled.

“If the elections are not postponed, then the campaigning that will be allowed will be done in a restricted manner because of social distancing norms and the fear of the spread of Covid-19. So to tackle this problem of not being able to reach out to the voters personally, especially in the rural areas, we will be using social media platforms to spread our message and connect with the voters. Earlier, the social media campaign was mostly focused and carried out in urban and semi-urban areas,” a party leader from Patna told The Sunday Guardian.

The party has also chosen a team of “Saptarishi” at every polling booth who will be attending in what is being called by party workers the first virtual rally that will sound the bugle for the election. This virtual rally will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 May as part of his “Mann ki Baat” programme.

“Seven members—consisting the president of the booth, the general secretary, the paalak (caretaker), a booth-level agent, a woman voter of the booth, a member from the dominant caste of that booth and one key individual who has influence in the booth, will be attending the PM’S Mann ki Baat and discuss and talk about it among their voters in that particular booth,” the leader said, adding that it will be called “Mann ki baat saptarishi ke saath”.

The state BJP has identified the top 240 plus party leaders, from vice presidents to secretaries, for this activity and each of them have been individually given charge of the 243 Assembly seats in the state. Ratnesh Kushwaha, a prominent Kushwaha leader of the party, who has been given the responsibility of Sakra block of Muzaffarpur district, told The Sunday Guardian that all preparations were in place for the “virtual rally”.

“We have 263 booths in our block and all the Saptarishis have been identified in these 263 booths. We have also identified the place where they will be sitting so that social distancing norms are not flouted. Covid-19 is here to stay, so we have to adapt to the challenges that it has brought rather than get discouraged by it. The Saptarishis will act as the message carrier of PM Modi,” he said.

There are 72,723 election booths in the state which means that close to 5.10 lakh consisting “Saptarishis” will be attending this “virtual rally”.