UP poll campaign is hi-tech, but not voters

NEW DELHI, INDIA: If only poll-savvy UP politicians had a forewarning, they would have worked hard to make their citizens tech savvy. With the election commission's strict norms against outdoor poll displays, they have no option but to make the most of cyberspace.

But ironically, the country’s most populous state has less than 10 per cent Internet penetration. But how does that matter?

Setting the trend online is BJP’s Uma Bharti, who is no less fiery on Facebook. Commenting over UP government’s recent state split, her post reads: “UP division is a political stunt.”

On other occasions, Bharti shares a news link to her fans that carries a story about her controversial statement on torching the retail chain stores in UP, if FDI is allowed.

Her arch rival Akhilesh Yadav of SP misses no opportunity to share pictures that display galvanizing crowd on his Facebook page. His 5000 friends are equally swift in photo tagging, and sharing them onto their networks. During the first phase of the polls, when rains hit the region, Yadav took shelter in Facebook, and posted appeals to voters to exercise their electoral franchise.

Going by the reach of videos, another political stalwart Rita Bahuguna Joshi of Congress regularly shares YouTube videos of speeches.

Contrary to her elephantine poll strategy, BSP patriarch and UP CM Mayawati's presence in the virtual world has been sombre so far. This, may be due to the arguable reason that her vote bank is not too Internet savvy.

“The Internet is fast emerging as a medium to propagate things quickly, so it has become a panacea for candidates in the poll fray,” said a Lucknow-based social activist.

As the ballots are yet to be cast for four rounds in UP, the activist believes that Internet might have a partial impact, and that too among the urban population. The next phase of the election is slated for February 19.