Madhya Pradesh Congress has sought from the ticket aspiring leaders to get 15,000 likes on facebook page and 5,000 followers on Twitter.
This is for the first time that Congress has come out openly in support of social media to assess the capabilities of its leaders.
In a letter issued by the Madhya Pradesh Congress committee to ticket aspirants for the assembly elections scheduled in November, this year, it has been mentioned that aspirant must have 15,000 likes on their Facebook page, 5,000 followers on Twitter and a WhatsApp group of booth-level workers. They must also like and re-tweet every post on the state Congress Twitter account, says the letter.
Everyone has to submit details of their social media performance by September 15. The social media and IT cells of the party will decide whether they make the cut.
The letter begins by saying that the Congress party is taking strict steps towards improving its social media campaign.
The same conditions will also apply for office bearers and lawmakers of the party in Madhya Pradesh. At the very least, the Congress says, its members must have a Facebook page, a Twitter account and must be active on WhatsApp. While both the BJP and the Congress have upped their social media game, the Congress is widely seen as playing catch-up compared to the tech-savvy BJP.
In the polls later this year, the ruling BJP will fight for a record fourth term. The BJP's IT cell in-charge in Madhya Pradesh has said about 65,000 cyber warriors have been tasked with running the party's campaign effectively online.