With only one day left for campaign in the Gujarat Assembly election, parties are accelerating their online outreach efforts to interact with voters using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. And the intensified promotion can be witnessed on their social media platforms.
The BJP, which is best known for its social media presence, is already running a full-fledged campaign. The party posted more than 50 tweets in last 24 hours as compared to 31 of Congress and 21 of the AAP.
An examination of the three parties’ Facebook and Twitter accounts over the last one week reveals that Congress’ social media handles were engaged more with Rahul Gandhi’s “Bharat Jodo Yatra,” as 75 per cent of all postings were about the yatra. Less than 20 per cent of the posts on its Facebook page and Twitter account dealt with the party’s election campaign in Gujarat.
On the other hand, over the same time period, roughly 45 per cent of the posts on the Bhartiya Janata Party’s official Facebook page and Twitter account were on the Gujarat elections. However, the Aam Aadmi Party outperformed both the BJP and Congress in terms of social media postings from its primary handles since every second post from those handles was about the Gujarat elections.
The BJP’s social media initiatives showcase the accomplishments of the party-led administration in Gujarat over the previous two decades. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 until 2014.
The saffron group is also addressing the sensitive subject of Gujarati pride with the recently announced campaign “Aa Gujarat Me Banavyu Chhe (I made this Gujarat).” The Congress, on the other hand, is recalling the time when it governed the state, the contributions its administrations made to the state’s growth, and how the BJP has done nothing in its 27 years in power.
The saffron party has over 35 lakh Facebook fans, 57.8 lakh Instagram followers, 1.5 million Twitter followers, and 45,600 YouTube subscribers.
The ruling party has promoted ads such as “Modiji Na Suwarn 20 Saal (20 golden years of Modi),” “Vande Bharat,” “Aa Gujarat Main Banayu Chhe,” and “BJP etle Bharoso (BJP means trust).”
While talking about AAP, which is trying to emerge as the main Opposition, the party has built a narrative around the party’s numerous “guarantees” declared by its national leader Arvind Kejriwal relying heavily on WhatsApp to interact with people. The Party has launched five campaigns.
The AAP has 5.67 lakh Facebook fans and 1.17 lakh Instagram followers. While the state AAP does not have its own YouTube channel, it relies on the national AAP channel, which has 42.3 lakh followers.