FEMALE POLITICIANS TURN TO TECHNOLOGY TO CONSOLIDATE DIGITAL PRESENCE AMID RALLY BAN

By: WE Staff | Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Women leaders from all political parties are wooing voters on social media ahead of the first 'virtual' election, which will take place in five states later this week, according to many. Because physical rallies and road shows are prohibited, the parties have resorted to technology to maximise the internet campaign.

In all poll-bound states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur – women make up a significant portion of the electorate, and their participation in recent elections has outpaced that of male voters. Women voted at a rate of roughly 67.18 percent in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which was higher than the 67.01 percent registered by their male counterparts.

This time, parties are enlisting the help of prominent female leaders to engage and connect with women voters across seats. Other parties are not lagging behind the Congress party, which set the stage with Priyanka Gandhi's 'Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon' campaign aimed at influencing the electorate.

While the leaders are active on most social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Messenger, and Telegram, they are also attempting to strengthen their digital presence by joining the Koo App, a local Hindi microblogging platform.

Women politicians such as Uttar Pradesh's Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Punjab's Malvika Sood, and Uttar Pradesh's Aparna Yadav, to name a few, are seen actively engaged in public debate and campaigning on social media platforms.

Several ministers announced last year, amid Twitter's feud with the government, that they were switching to Koo, a "made in India" microblogging platform.