BENGALURU: The social media team of the Janata Dal-Secular has taken the party’s alliance with the Congress in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections to a whole new level. The new social media war room and media centre of H D Deve Gowda’s party has been set up right next to the Congress’ war room off Cunningham Road. The independent two-storey house that was inaugurated a month ago is the new strategy centre for JD(S) that is making its presence felt on social media.
A team of 50 youngsters — employees and volunteers — work round the clock to create content for all social networking sites of the party. While the team of volunteers, as compared to during the elections, has been downsized, their activity has seen a spike with the new office. The Congress war room has barely seen any activity over the last few months.
The JD(S) had a media centre and social media war room in Sheshadripuram prior to the assembly polls. “We have shifted the social media cell to a larger office in the heart of the city. We create content, promote campaigns, edit videos and upload all activities of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy largely on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook,” said a party source.
“A team of hired professionals and youngsters is working as part of the social media group. We have a separate IT cell that handles and supervises the content,” said JD(S) MLC T A Saravana. The Congress and the JD(S) war rooms are an arm’s distance away in the run-up to an election where both parties intend to fight together against the BJP.
While no discussion on sharing resources is on the table, Congress sources reveal that JD(S)’ set-up in the new office was from a leaf taken out of Congress’ strategy. Sources in the Congress’ social media team told The New Indian Express that former MP and current minister for minor irrigation C S Puttaraju made a tour of the Congress election war room soon after the results to make a note of the functioning.
While the Congress’ social media team is yet to find a chief after Srivatsa Y B quit the post, the JD(S)’ social media team is leaps ahead of its alliance partner. Apart from maintaining H D Kumaraswamy’s popularity on YouTube and Facebook, the team handles his personal as well as official party Twitter handles. One group of the social media team now also handles a Twitter handle in the name of H D Deve Gowda.