BHUBANESWAR: As mercury level soars, so does the intensity of the digital campaign of contenders in the capital city.
Catching up with the trend, candidates of BJD, BJP and Congress in Bhubaneswar parliamentary constituency are now regularly sharing Insta reels, YouTube shots and Facebook posts to reach out to voters.
Be it BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate Aparajita Sarangi or her rival from BJD Manmath Routray or Congress MP candidate Yasir Nawaz, all are making reels of their campaigning on Insta, sharing YouTube shots and posting videos on Facebook to grab attention of the voters ahead of the general elections.
Riding high on her digital fame, Sarangi has created a dedicated team to handle her social media pages. With over 63,000 followers on Instagram and 3.24 lakh followers on Facebook, Sarangi’s reels and short videos on different social media platforms are garnering lakhs of views on a daily basis.
Besides, she is equally active on micro-blogging site X, where she has 3.37 lakh followers, sharing her views or updating poll-related activities. Sources in Sarangi’s camp said at least one reel and short video is being shared on social media platforms every morning, while dozens of fan club members also actively share posts and videos of her in all the digital platforms.
Similarly, ruling BJD candidate Manmath Routray, whose followers on FB page have increased to over 5,600 and counting is also regularly sharing his campaign photos and videos on different social media platforms. The Manmath Routray Fan Club, with over 16,000 followers on Insta and 11,000 followers on Facebook, shares reels and short videos on social media platforms to reach out to electors.
Congress candidate Yasir Nawaz with over 5,000 followers on Insta and over 10,000 followers on FB, is also very active on social platforms and leaving no stone unturned to engage with the voters in real time. “All contents are being strategically curated to grab attention of the voters,” said campaign strategist and social media manager of an MP candidate.
Content such as walking in rain, addressing a huge crowd, greeting electors and reaching out to elderly citizens that has the potential to reach out to a large user base are shared, he said.
On the other hand, candidates for the Assembly seats are also not behind when it comes to using these digital campaign techniques. From BJP’s Jagannath Pradhan, Babu Singh and Priyadarshi Mishra to BJD’s Ananta Narayan Jena, Susanta Rout and others everyone has started curating content strategically to grab attention of the voters.
“With tailored strategies we pick trending songs and music to craft content that look visually appealing and engaging,” said digital campaigning strategist of a candidate from Bhubaneswar Central seat.
He said almost all candidates in the constituency now have their own social media campaign team. “With a large number of people, especially youths, remaining active on social media platforms, digital campaigning has now become an integral part of modern-day campaigning,” said BJP’s Bhubaneswar North Assembly candidate Priyadarshi Mishra.
Mishra said along with physical campaigning he also monitors the content of the posts as well as their timing to ensure they have maximum reach.
