27 June,2013 07:02 AM IST | | Priyankka Deshpande
Next time your phone alerts you about a message on Whatsapp, don't be surprised to find an unknown number sharing videos and digital pamphlets and urging you to vote for MNS candidate Indumati Phulaware, who is contesting the PMCu00a0by-elections from ward no 40.
Digital preparedness: MNS corporator Kishor Shinde said the software can store addresses and mobile numbers of voters and send them messages on Whatsapp. (Below) The pamphlet that the party candidate will send to people urging them to vote for the party. Pic/Krunal Gosavi
"Given the amount of time left for the polls, it wouldn't have been possible for us to visit every house personally. However, it's necessary for us to inform voters that by electing our candidate, they won't have to face another election, like it happened this following the disqualification of former corporator Kalpana Bahirat," said Prashant Mate, MNS ward president.
Getting mobile numbers of people in the ward was an easy task for the team. However, MNS corporator Kishor Shinde, who owns a software firm, said that he developed an application through which the addresses and mobile numbers of voters can be saved, and which can also be used to send messages to the voters. "During the last elections we used social networking sites for campaigning. However, for the by-poll we thought Whatsapp would be the best choice," Shinde added.
The election for the ward will be held on July 7. The Mangalwar Peth seat got vacant in March after MNS corporator Kalpana Bahirat was disqualified for allegedly providing fake caste documents to contest on a seat reserved for women belonging to the OBC. u00a0
