A two-day orientation camp for first-time BJP MPs in Surajkund came to a close with the Prime Minister advising them to use social networking media like twitter and facebook so to get connected with a large number of people.
The Prime Minister’s emphasis on the miracle of social networking sites is obvious given his magical accomplishment in the recent polls in which he had used the sites to get in touch with the people. He could register the sound triumph by dint of his unequivocal interaction with millions of electorates (mostly youths).
However, if Odisha’s case is taken into account, it is found that very few politicians are savvy with social networking. State BJP President KV Singh Deo had a massive outpouring of guests on his daughter’s wedding ceremony at the Gandhi Maidan on the eve of the poll schedule. Beginning from the grand old man lK Advani to Rajiv Pratap Ruddy, many high-profile politicians attended the royal wedding. Modi himself spoke to Odias on seven occasions. Still the things didn’t come his way. Party’s front-liner in the State Surama Padhi, a former Minister, ridiculed social media with harsh words. Barring the cases of counted leaders like Murali Manohar Sharma, Ashok Sahu and Sajjan Sharma etc of the State unit, Odisha doesn’t see the kind of activities in social media by any BJP stalwart. Even to the utter dismay, the party’s official twitter page and a meager 5, 624 are following it. State President Singh Deo is least bothered. His page contains 22 followers now. Though the pages of two Union Ministers from the State Jual Oram and Dharmendra Pradhan in facebook and twitter read a sizeable augmentation in terms of followers following their induction into the Central Cabinet, yet the number is negligible. So far as their twitter accounts are concerned, Pradhan follows only 37 and his followers are 6, 996 where as his colleague, Jual is with only 2, 047 followers as of their pages showed on Friday. Another saffronist and the former General Secretary of the State BJP Murali Manohar Sharma is marked to be a bit ahead in the social media sector. Sharma’s twitter handle, @MuraliSharmaBJP enlists 2, 400 following and 4, 874 followers. His facebook page is already jammed with touching the saturation spot in friends’ list. In facebook, Jual’s page is liked by 326 readers and BJP Odisha could bag 3, 138 likes only. Singh Deo’s facebook page got 863 likes and Rourkela MlA Dilip Ray’s page is liked by 1,971 visitors. So also, BJP’s lok Sabha nominee from Bhubaneswar in last polls Prithviraj Harichandan’s facebook page got 3, 429 likes till date. In case of the ruling BJD leaders, party Supremo Naveen Patnaik seldom pays a trip to his sites. Naveen Patnaik@CM_Odisha is his official twitter page which covers only 612 followers till date. Rather, his party leaders of the second line Baijayant Panda and Ranendra Pratap Swain alias Raja Bhai are going fast in bonding with people through social media. Panda, the sitting MP from Kendrapara, has been a front runner with 61, 452 followers and Swain with 751 followers in their twitter handles. However, Swain’s friend list in his facebook page has also been ascending to newer heights with every passing day. The most active guy in facebook, so far as Congress party’s State leaders are concerned, is the former MP Pradip Majhi. Majhi’s facebook page has been liked by 13, 526.