By Parul Abrol, IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to launch e-posters for campaigning in the general elections next year in keeping with its image of being a tech-savvy political outfit.
“Technology is very much part of life today and we have to move with the times. We are planning e-posters for campaigning,” M.Venkaiah Naidu, BJP leader and a member of the party’s central election committee, told IANS.
In a first of its kind initiative, the BJP’s e-posters will be seen on popular websites and all major news websites.
“Almost 30 million people work on the internet these days and our project of launching e-posters will help to get in touch with these people,” said BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
Currently, e-posters are gaining incredible world popularity. People use them to decorate houses, flats, offices and other premises.
Former BJP leader Pramod Mahajan was one of the first to introduce the party to technology during election campaigning. From his then Safdarjung Road bungalow in New Delhi, Mahajan and his computer savvy backroom boys micromanaged the 2004 elections.
While a huge chunk of educated voters are being targeted through e-posters, the BJP says it plans to target groups across the spectrum.
“The e-poster would not be a stereotype and will have something for all age groups and classes, dealing with issues like employment, corruption, terrorism, inflation, economy and social issues,” Naqvi pointed out.
“We are in talks with several media houses, television channels and other popular websites,” adds Naqvi, explaining that the dominating criteria of choosing a website would be its viewers and the number of its subscribers.
High end e-posters will be designed by leading companies in the field and the BJP’s prospective contenders next week.
Refusing to divulge the costs involved in the project, BJP sources said there was more planned for the general elections.
While text messages on mobile phones have been increasingly used by all political parties in previous elections, the BJP plans to do some extra work this time around.
“A day before the elections, a message will go to voters detailing their serial and booth numbers or whatever relevant information to make it easier for them,” said Naidu.