After YSRCP, AP BJP bets big on social media

Amaravati: Taking a leaf out of the Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP), the Andhra Pradesh wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also conducted a conference with its social media 'warriors' in Vijayawada recently to engage with them. State BJP president Somu Veerraju said the event happened in the party office where social media 'warriors' from across the State participated.

According to the party, the ambition of the conference was to publicise the welfare schemes being implemented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the last man in the farthest corner of the country. Social media experts advised the party's virtual 'warriors' on how to reach the last man through the digital avenues. The conference also concentrated on how to strengthen the party's social media efforts. "We discussed extensively on the central government schemes, followed by the activists coming up with suggestions on various topics," said Veerraju. Sunil Deodhar, BJP's co-incharge for the southern state spoke virtually with the saffron party's social media supporters.

Other leaders who participated in the programme included Madhukar, AP BJP general secretary, V.S. Satya Murthy, treasurer and others. Meanwhile, a prolific social media supporter of the ruling YSRCP, Prabakar, had recently released a video message underlining the importance of social media in the coming days, especially during elections.

He said social media's role will be much larger in the 2024 election than what it played in the 2019 election. However, he decried that social media warriors are not getting their due recognition as many of them are being bypassed for people who haven't contributed much for the welfare of the party.

In the southern state, like most places, a multiplicity of social media handles and pages constantly wage war on opponents in the form of photos, graphics, videos and others to propagate ideology and political messages. The BJP is yet to taste power in Andhra Pradesh. The saffron party dreams of capturing power in AP, where the people got rid of Congress six years ago. It remains to be seen how far BJP can go as it still holds off on special category status to Andhra Pradesh, which massively lost out post-bifurcation of the united states.

Recently, Veerraju claimed that the central government will invest Rs 1,000 crore for the development of Tirupati, where a by-election is in the offing which BJP wants to win. Several BJP leaders are camping in Tirupati, high on the recent election victories in Dubbaka bypoll and GHMC civic body elections in neighbouring Telangana.