AHMEDABAD: Aam Aadmi Party’s foray into the Gujarat poll arena has turned political campaigns more technology-driven in the state. To counter the growing social media footprint of the AAP, the ruling BJP is revamping its digital campaigns by deploying ‘digital warriors’ and issuing NFC cards. From AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s rallies in Gujarat being widely publicised on social media to the AAP-BJP Twitter spar over the education sector in the state, the saffron camp has come to see the AAP as a potential challenger in the next Assembly polls.
The BJP has formed 2,000 ‘digital warriors’ to spread the speeches of party leaders, messages on government schemes and the profiles of top leaders on social media platforms. The party’s NFC (Near Field Communication) cards aim to instantly link smart devices with social media handles of BJP leaders as well as ‘digital warriors’, who will reach out to villagers. A ‘war room’ will be set up to track the activities of digital warriors.
Gujarat BJP social media co-convener Manan Dani said the party will be using NFC cards to make the election campaign “hi-tech”. “Six types of cards will be rolled out which can be used to access Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts of the PM, Gujarat BJP and the party chief. These cards will be distributed by 2,000-odd digital warriors, who will visit villages and deliver the message of development,” he said.
Besides, the party is looking at the social media popularity of candidates before handing over tickets. “The party will evaluate social media popularity while selecting the candidates. The number of followers on the candidate’s social media accounts will be taken into consideration. Plus, the party will factor in the number of government events that the candidate promoted on social media,” said another saffron party leader.
2,000 digital warriors to spread BJP’s message
The BJP has formed 2,000 ‘digital warriors’ to spread the speeches of party leaders, messages on government schemes and the profiles of top leaders on social media platforms. NFC cards aim to link smart devices with social media handles of BJP leaders