On the facebook page of the Coimbatore unit of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, there is a picture of the party candidate for the Pollachi Parliamentary constituency, N. Palanisamy, greeting DMK president M. Karunanidhi on his arrival at the Coimbatore Airport on Saturday.
The page managers uploaded the picture soon after the leader arrived in the morning. The post has attracted a few comments.
The Coimbatore district unit of the DMK and the Aam Aadmi Party are an exception, for many other contestants in Coimbatore and Pollachi Parliamentary constituencies do not have their presence on social networking sites.
They have even declared so in their affidavits filed before returning officers.
In Coimbatore, except Pon. Chandran of the AAP, none of the candidates representing political parties has a presence in any of the social networking sites or in the internet for that matter.
Connect to young votersMr. Chandran says he leverages his presence on facebook to connect to young voters.
He keeps his friends and followers posted on his campaign and also informs them about the next day’s programmes.
Knowledge“It is important to do so because the youth use social networking sites and internet to gain knowledge and relate to one another.”
DMK councillor in the Coimbatore Corporation Meena Loganathan says that the presence in social networking site is one of the best ways for elected representatives to keep in touch with people.
She says the people make use of her presence in WhatsApp to report problems, commend her good work and also complain her lack of performance.
First-time voter and advocate Saiprasad Narendran says that by not having a presence on social networking sites, leaders are missing out a lot, more so when the youth of today are losing interest in politics.
It is also the best avenue available for politicians to connect to the growing middle class, which has got hooked onto one or other social network.
Aggressive useAnother first-time voter Umesh Marudachalam says that the aggressive use of facebook by the DMK in Pollachi has overshadowed the presence of other candidates.
“The party functionaries tag me in whatever they do. And this helps me know what is happening in my constituency. It has also drawn me towards politics.”
