BJP to roll out 'Digital Rath' to impress the tech-savvy youth

NEW DELHI: Giving a contemporary touch to its election campaign that resonates with the tech-savvy generation , Bharatiya Janata Party ( BJP ) has decided to take out ‘Digital Rath’ in all 70 assembly segments of the seven Lok sabha seats in the capital.

With huge LED screens mounted on an air-conditioned van, the digital chariots will be used to show video clips on achievements of the Narendra Modi government, various schemes it has launched in five years of its governance in the country and failures of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi.

The party has also decided to organise a ‘Twitter Chaupal’ for people who use the micro-blogging site to connect with Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, ask him questions and give feedback on various issues.

While the digital chariot will take to the road from the first week of April, the Twitter Chaupal will take place on March 27 or 28.

Delhi BJP’s IT and social media cell co-incharge Neelkant Baxi said the digital chariot will also have a Wi-Fi hotspot to help people look at the content on Twitter, Facebook and Sharechat accounts of PM Modi, BJP National President Amit Shah and Tiwari, like and share the pages and even message them and interact with them.

“Manoj Tiwari will himself travel on the digital chariot and visit each and every part of the city and interact with people,” Baxi said. “People will also be able to download the NaMo app and we will try to create digital awareness among them by giving tips on how to spot fake news peddled by the opposition parties.”

One of the oldest users of Sharechat, a language-based social media platform, Tiwari, said Baxi, posts a lot of content including his thoughts, photos, party’s literature and details of various government schemes. The social media app is used by a large number of people who prefer regional language content over English. The number of Sharechat users has been increasing steadily over the past few months and the platform is becoming more popular than Facebook.

“Around 200 plus people will be able to use free Wi-Fi at one go and the user ID and password will be ‘Kejriwal failed to give free Wi-Fi’,” Baxi said.

The ‘Twitter Chaupal’ will also connect people at two locations in each parliamentary constituency. “People will be able to ask questions, take Manoj Tiwari’s views on various issues and give their feedback — positive and negative — to the Delhi BJP president. Since the content on Twitter cannot be edited or deleted by any other person, it will be there for everyone to see,” Baxi said.

While the party is using digital methods to get in touch with people, at least two party MPs — Harsh Vardhan of Chandni Chowk and Pravesh Sahib Singh Verma of west Delhi — have launched their own mobile applications.