While social media’s efficacy in poll campaigns is still being hotly debated in other parts of the country, a mammoth youth following of Chief Minister Raman Singh on social media platforms is being attributed as one of the key factors which catapulted the BJP to score a hat-trick win in the Assembly polls in Chhattisgarh.
‘Right from the beginning of our poll campaigns on social media platforms and particularly Facebook, the youth was all for Raman Singh and work done by him in the State,’ stated convener of BJP’s IT Cell in Chhattisgarh Deepak Makshey. The chats and posts on facebook were handled by a large team of youth within Chhattisgarh while support was also provided by IT professionals from outside the State in responding to the chats and posts, he said.
The maximum number of followers on social media for Raman Singh was found in the urban areas and less in rural areas due to lower internet penetration in rural pockets, Makshey said. The posts on Raman Singh were largely on the work done by him in Chhattisgarh. The IT team at the State BJP headquarters handled hundreds of posts and queries and posts in a day as the poll campaign gathered momentum, Makshey said.
It had been proven by the IT Team at the State BJP headquarters that social media has played a decisive role in generating positive and meaningful discussions on social media where large number of youth logged in to express their opinions during polls, he said The IT team also took services of intellectuals for writing posts which helped generate a healthy debate on social media. The youth members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) also significantly helped the IT Team during the Assembly polls in involving youth in meaningful discussions, Makshey said.