Poonam Mahajan or Priya Dutt - Who will you swipe right for?

Priya Dutt and Poonam Mahajan

When you check Poonam Mahajan's Instagram story, the first thing that pops up is the office lesson that most 38-year-olds today are dealing with. Under the label "Youth Service" with a picture of Mahajan seated in her office on a table with others on her team, is the caption: "Learnt plenty of millenial slang with my team of young volunteers".

These are followed by stories of her hugging her mother with a portrait of her father and the late BJP icon Pramod Mahajan behind, and heading to Prabhadevi's Siddhivinayak Temple to take Bappa's blessing.

Congress candidate Priya Dutt has asked voters to spend five minutes on social media every day to support democracy

Highlights include an Ask Poonam event, where followers have asked her everything from why slums near the Mumbai airport are not a concern for her to how she juggles her role as a mother to two with that of being an MP - Mahajan was elected from Mumbai North Central in the 2014 elections and is contesting the same seat this season as well.

Almost like a movie promotion blitzkrieg where stars finally shine down and interact with the fans, in the run-up to the 2019 general elections, your Lok Sabha candidate will now no longer just meet you at your society gate, hands folded, or pass by your office road in a rally.

BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan has talked about connecting with millennial slang through her young volunteers

They have realised that to grab the millennial attention - 45 million people have become eligible to vote since the previous elections, according to 2018 data from the Election Commission - they need to be where the millennial is: on their smartphones. Which is probably why Mahajan, who at last count had a little over 180 posts since joining the picture sharing site in 2015, with 130K followers, is upping her social media game.

Also Read: Elections 2019: BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan's annual income drops over past 5 years

Last month, she launched a campaign to attract volunteers, especially those in the 18 and 25 year age bracket, on Instagram. Shivish Soni, 23, a member of Mahajan's social media campaign said those who responded to the story (Swipe up to connect with Poonam Mahajan) would be linked to a form titled #PoonamPhirSe, which one could fill to join her campaign for a range of volunteer work.

BJP's Poonam Mahajan speaking to volunteers about her social media campaign at the election ward head office in Vakola. Pic/Nimesh Dave

"More than 3, 000 people registered since March 27. Around 600 volunteers from Mumbai were asked to be a part of offline campaigning activities, while those outside of Mumbai [2,400 volunteers] were roped in to help with online promotion and research," he says.

Obama se BJP tak
There was a time when election campaigns would mean a riot of competing political pamphlets everywhere. Streets and chowks would be marked with party flags and firecrackers and loudspeakers on autos or taxis would announce the slogan for neta, not a Twitter hashtag. Today, the city barely shows any signs of democracy on the go. The action has all but moved out of urban areas.

Owen Roncon is handling wife Priya Dutt's social media campaign. Since her candidature was announced on March 13, her Instagram feed has seen 50-plus posts. Pic/Shadab Khan

Sanjay Dina Patil, former MP and senior leader with the Nationalist Congress Party recalls campaigns from 1999. "We had to take out pheris and meet everyone physically day and night, to hand out pamphlets, which were printed in volumes. They were distributed at public places, events and during political speeches and rallies to give an idea of our agenda for the constituency."

The 50-year-old, who was elected from Mumbai North East in the 2009 elections, and will be contesting from the same constituency this year, adds that while meeting people in person has not been ruled out entirely, "things like putting out our priorities and announcing the sabhas has become easier on social media. The new generation is more connected on social media and it has become the need of the hour to be there to connect with new and first-time voters".

Pic/Getty Images

Shidarth Bhatt, a social media expert, says that it was Narendra Modi who first latched on to the idea of a social media campaign, during his PM run for the 2014 elections. "At the time, the presence of Congress was limited. There was only Shashi Tharoor who had Twitter presence with a mere 5,000 followers. Now, all Congress members have their accounts on all social media platforms."

Bhatt, who in 2014 handled Modi's online campaign, says the cue to use social media as a campaign tool came from the presidential pitch of former US president Barak Obama who was a hit on social media during the 2008 US elections. Last elections, though, it was the BJP that took the lead, forming its own IT hub, recruiting social media experts and computer engineers from top institutions to plan their online campaign.

Clyde Crasto

Picking the medium
How the voter uses social media also reflects in campaign strategies. For instance, while WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter ruled in 2014, today these mediums have tough competition from Instagram. Devang Dave, national IT and social media head of the BJP Youth Wing says text messaging may have held a party in good stead during 2009, but with 3G internet in 2014, parties were able to reach a wider audience.

"This year, while tracking the youth and how they are changing, we noticed that while the average age of a Facebook user earlier was 18-19 years, now, the users are largely between 28-30 years. The 18-19 year group has moved on to Instagram or Snapchat," he adds.

On social media. Party vice-president Baba Siddique, says that the padyatras continue to remain as effective as before, "but striking a careful balance with the online campaign, helps people see what you're doing". Pic/Atul Kamble

And so, even a reluctant user like Congress candidate Priya Dutt, who had nearly retired from politics post her loss in 2014, has upped her social media game after being announced candidate for the North Central constituency on March 13. With less than 200 uploads since being on the platform in 2012, Dutt, 52, has uploaded over 50 posts
ever since.

Some of these include videos of herself launching the 555 campaign, urging voters who "believe in democracy" to take five minutes on social media to promote the party's "positive" messages, to speak to five people asking them to vote for Congress representing "unity and harmony" and ensure that they take five people along to vote. The video has been made in both English and Hindi. Other posts talk of developmental work she had been involved in during her previous stint as MP.

Congress' Priya Dutt has been personally meeting residents in the North Central constituency, while also promoting her 555 campaign

These include the Congress' NYAY programme, and even a video of driving down along Mumbai's roads speaking, in Marathi, talking of Congress' development strategy, and saying she'll vote for the hand. If the candidate and volunteers were rendered door-to-door salesmen in a non-cellphone era, today, they have the luxury of being a home-shopping service, with the buyer logging in and out at will.

Dutt's husband Owen Roncon, an advertising professional, who is now handling her social media campaign, explained that the 555 campaign takes up an inclusive approach and allows people to set achievable targets for themselves in order to make a change. "While many voters have made up their minds about which side to support, many are sitting on the fence and are considered to be the swing vote. We are urging people to identify them and hopefully bring them to our side by spreading the party's message," he adds.

Sanjay Dina Patil, NCP candidate from the Mumbai North East constituency, still prefers doing 'pheris' to meet voters, but says announcing sabhas has become easier on social media. The need of the hour, he says, is to connect with new and first-time voters

And, like all products, identifying a target audience is crucial to the medium you pick. The Shiv Sena, which continues its tumultuous relationship with ally BJP, has this year moved from painting the town saffron - Sena-dominated area would be decorated in orange flags and lanterns - to reaching out to India on the medium it loves best: television.

While NaMo TV may have aggressively made its way on your cable cluster, the Sena, which identifies its voters in the 40 to 60 age group, primarily WhatsApp and Facebook users, has launched a series of 13-hour-long videos titled Bindaas Bol with its leaders interacting with the FB audience live and taking on questions from citizens. They are no Obamas, however.

Varun Sardesai

The video quality is not top-notch, the lighting could have been better and the candidates have the genuine awkwardness of a generation that didn't take selfies before they said 'mama'. But, where candidates would otherwise have to fight for five seconds of air time on news channels, here they can discuss, as Sena MLA and former Mumbai Mayor Sunil Prabhu does in one video, what the party has delivered since the last election: the Maratha reservation.

But, their reach isn't limited to the top 5 (Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat). Across party lines, other mediums are being used to reach out to many more users. For instance, in rural Maharashtra, Sena uses ShareChat, an India-created social media app, to share Marathi specific political content making reaching the youth easy.

Varun Sardesai, Yuva Sena member and core team member of the party who handles social media campaigning, says, "While we cannot control what goes in print or the electronic medium, on social media, we can talk for ourselves and let the citizen take a call on it. The viewership can now easily be tapped, which was earlier not possible. And also the rallies are not centric to the specific area, but we also conduct Facebook Lives of our important rallies so that it can be seen by everyone who is unable to be present at that specific location."

No troll policy
But if mud-slinging is an Olympic sport in politics, trolling is its social media counterpart. A category, the Nationalist Congress Party seems to want to avoid a victory in this season. Having increased its Twitter followers from 1,200 to 19k - small by most standards - the Sharad Pawar-led NCP uses its social media platforms to relay its public meetings, much like other parties.

On Instagram, those who responded to BJP candidate Poonam Mahajan's story were linked to a form titled #PoonamPhirSe, inviting them to join her campaign for a range of volunteer work

But, interestingly, WhatsApp is not a preferred medium. Clyde Crasto, social media head, NCP Mumbai and Maharashtra spokesperson, says, "We stick to giving out information through our verified accounts on Twitter and Facebook, instead of Whatsapp, as the source of the message can't be traced on this medium. Our understanding is clear: we do not encourage or indulge in trolling and speak on facts and figures only."

Dead on ground?
Are waving politicians in open jeeps then a thing of the past? Not entirely. Seasoned politicians who have contested multiple elections say voters still look for that personal touch. Vice-president of Mumbai Congress and three-time MLA, Baba Siddique says padyatras remain as effective as before.

"Today, there is a lot of awareness among electors and online campaign has definitely become a trend. There are 17 lakh electors in a constituency and it isn't possible to reach every one. But candidates now meet 15-20 societies in a single meeting and they have to strike a careful balance with the online campaign so that more people can see what you're doing," he said.

Dave calls it "hammer marketing". "As part of the offline campaign, a candidate can at best give 20-30 minutes to a group of people. The second or third recall is done through social media, but it cannot replace the door to door campaign or rallies," he adds.

The grassroots workers who'd earlier knock on your doors, follow you on Instagram now. And, during poll time, they no longer need to take leave from day jobs to help the party. And yes, the firecrackers and loudspeakers have been mildly silenced. "This is mainly because of the citizens who do not probably appreciate such methods of reaching out to them and also mainly because we as a party do not want to add to any environmental problems," says Trushna Vishwasrao, a Shiv Sena worker who had contested first BMC election in 1992.

53
The number of posts Priya Dutt has put up since being announced Congress candidate on March 13. Her total count since 2012 is a little over 200

3,000
The number of Instagram users who have volunteered for Poonam Mahajan's campaign call since March 27. Of these, 600 are Mumbai residents. Others will participate in creating more traction for her online

45mn
No. of Indians eligible to vote since the 2014 elections

Inputs by Rajendra B Aklekar and Rupsa Chakraborty

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