With barely less than a fortnight left for the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, campaigning in all nine Assembly constituencies of Indore district appears to be a low-key affair unlike previous years when the banners, pamphlets, hoardings, blaring loudspeakers used to be common characteristic of the poll campaigning.
Thanks to election code of conduct, upper cap expenses on poll campaigning and the Election Commission’s ruling against defacement of public and private buildings by the poll campaigning material, campaigning over the years has lost its sheen with the candidates of various political parties vying for the Assembly elections have restricted themselves merely to a door-to-door contacts or addressing select group of electorate in small pockets of their Assembly constituencies.
With swords of the Election Commission hanging high over their heads, traditional mode of campaigning has become a passé with banners, flags, posters, hoardings and pamphlets of political parties are completely missing.
Besides making personal contacts with the electorates, majority of the candidates of the BJP and the Congress in assembly constituencies of Indore are making full use of social media -- Rs face books, twitters, Watsup’ to appeal electorates, primarily the young voters who will be casting their votes for the first time and would prove to be decisive in deciding fate of candidates in the current elections.
As the youngsters constitute a loins share of people having access to the social media on the internet, reaching these voters through social media and appealing them to cast votes in their favour, has become easier and less time consuming for the candidates, said a political observer while talking to this newspaper.
Also with apparent delay in declaration of candidates on account of internal bickering, pulls and pressure by both the mainstream political parties – vis-a-vas the BJP and the Congress with both the parties announcing its official candidates till the last date of filing of nomination forms, candidates have been left with very little time (less than a fortnight) to campaign for themselves. Under the circumstances, appealing a larger section of electorates through social media in the shortest possible time has become a preferred choice for the candidates as far as their campaigning is concerned, said another political analyst.
Though making a door-to-door campaign has remained the preferred mode of campaigning by the candidates, candidates in the current elections are also seen campaigning on motorcycles and bullock-carts. Congress candidate from Deepalpur, Satyanarayan Patel and the BJP candidate from Indore-3 assembly segment Ms Usha Thakur are seen traversing through the lanes and by-lanes of their respective constituencies by motorcycle.
Congress candidate Satyanarayan Patel says that it is easier to use motorcycle for campaigning as it can be moved anywhere in lanes and by-lanes at the quickest possible time as compared to other bigger vehicles. Similarly, BJP candidate from Indore-3, Usha Thakur who has been riding motorcycle since her college days, are seen campaigning in her constituency through motorcycle and generating both the curiosity and favour for herself.
On the other hand, Congress candidate from Sanwer, Tulsiram Silawat is seen using bullock-cart for his campaigning in the constituency which is predominantly a rural constituency in Indore district, apart from Mhow and Depalpur.