UP Assembly elections: As part of its digital outreach, BJP deploys 10 lakh workers with smartphones

A BJP source said that the party has also created more than 1.75 lakh WhatsApp groups of a minimum of 50 persons at the booth level.

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New Delhi: As part of its digital outreach, the BJP has deployed around 10 lakh workers with smartphones across Uttar Pradesh for the upcoming Assembly polls to be held between February 10 and March 7.

Five to six workers with smartphones have been deployed at each polling booth of Uttar Pradesh. The saffron party has also formed its IT and social media teams at the block level in the poll-bound state.

A well-placed source in the BJP said that these 10 lakh workers with smartphones will reach out to each and every voter in their respective areas.

"We have formed a 21-member booth committee at each polling station. Among these, a minimum of five members have smartphones, which has been made mandatory so that all the information reaches the ground at the booth level," he said.

There are 1,74,351 polling booths in the state, an increase of 18.49 per cent from the 2017 Assembly polls.

Another party leader said that with a minimum of five members at each booth with smartphones, there are over 10 lakh BJP workers prepared to reach out to the voters with digital content across the state.

"We have formed a team of five to six volunteers at each polling booth. Our volunteers are ensuring our digital presence among each voter at every polling booth. These workers, part of booth committees, work in coordination with the `Panna Pramukhs` (head of each page of the voter list)," sources said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has banned physical rallies and roadshows till January 31, with some relaxation for the first and second phases of polling.

Another senior leader said that the BJP has formed a team for IT and social media campaign at the block level in all the 403 Assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh to digitally reach out to the voters amid the restrictions put in place by the poll panel.

"Our IT and social media structure is such that Uttar Pradesh BJP has a robust team of social media and IT volunteers at every level in each district of Uttar Pradesh. In addition, we have five workers with smartphones at each polling booth we can take all the information and content to the people through them," Shashi Kumar, Social Media Co-convenor of Uttar Pradesh BJP, told IANS.

For digital dissemination of information, the party has formed groups and has pages on all social media platforms. The party is reaching out to voters with information through WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms.

As the Election Commission of India (ECI) has banned rallies and roadshows, the BJP is now planning to intensify information sharing through 1.75 lakh WhatsApp groups created at the booth level. The party also uses Facebook to share campaign content.

"We have created more than 1.75 lakh WhatsApp groups of a minimum of 50 persons at the booth level. Similarly, we are connecting with the people through Telegram, Facebook and Twitter. We have over 50 lakh views on our Telegram platform," said a source in the BJP.