MADURAI: Long-winded speeches through loud speakers; a huge crowd comprising party workers and public with their mouths wide open and eyes fixed on the candidate, trying to decipher the lines; a line of vehicles waiting at the parking lot, ready to ferry the candidates to the next spot. They are all things of past now. As time advanced, the campaigning styles too have undergone a sea change. And, candidates in Madurai are also no exception.
CPM candidate Su Venkatesan has adopted a personalised campaign style - ‘Selfie with SuVe’. In order to woo the youth and first-time voters, Venkatesan is interacting with the youngsters and is taking selfies with them. A Sahitya Akademi Award winner, Venkatesan said that there were nearly 70,000 people below the age of 35 in the voters’ list. “I take this opportunity to give an insight into my plan for development and my campaign strategy is working out well,” he said.
The candidate is also distributing masks printed with his face to children to woo the voters. The candidate also said that he would come up with more innovative campaign strategies in the coming daysSaravana Prabhu, a college student and a first-time voter said that the youths were keenly watching all the candidates and they could clear their doubts when the candidates approach them in person.
Meanwhile, the campaign style of Venkatesan’s rival VV Raj Satyan is more colourful. Recently Satyan celebrated Holi festival at a residential area where majority of North Indian migrants voters are living.
Raj Satyan, who is also the secretary of AIADMK’s IT Wing, is also making use of social network platform Instagram to share photographs and videos in order to reach out to the youths.
On the new approach of the candidates, GS Saranya, a teacher, said that they could build trust only when they mingle with the public. Going a step forward, Indian Union Muslim League’s candidate for Ramanathapuram, K Navas Kani, released promotional videos of his promises as part of campaign and they were being circulated in WhatsApp.