Political parties in election-bound Maharashtra believe that one way to win over young voters is by providing free Wi-Fi connectivity. The five major parties in the State have announced free Wi-Fi zones in areas where they enjoy support or plan to make inroads.
It all started in June when the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), led by Raj Thackeray, announced free Wi-Fi connectivity in the Shivaji Park area at Dadar, a stronghold of the party’s political rival, Shiv Sena.
“The Mumbai municipality, led by the Shiv Sena and the BJP, was supposed to provide the service across the city. But since it did not do its duty, we decided to intervene,” said Sandip Deshpande, MNS group leader in the civic body.
Soon, the Shiv Sena’s youth wing started a free Wi-Fi service last week, the same day MNS chief was supposed to inaugurate his party’s service. The Yuva Sena is led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aditya.
“This is not about politics. Our leader, Aditya Thackeray, proposed the idea originally and we just executed it,” said Samadhan Sarvankar of the Yuva Sena.
The MNS has identified 40 locations in Mumbai to provide the free Wi-Fi service. The Shiva Sena too has plans to extend the service.
Taking a cue from the Sena-MNS battle and seeing the huge response from young voters, the BJP has jumped into the fray. The party’s Dombivali MLA, Ravindra Chavan, has decided to foot the bill for a free Wi-Fi service in the constituency.
The ruling Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance has also joined the Wi-Fi war. While the Congress in Kalyan of Thane district has announced its plan to provide the service, NCP leader Jitendra Awhad on Monday announced that Kalwa and Mumbra railway stations would get the facility.
Citizens’ groups are critical of the Wi-Fi overdrive by politicians. “This is nothing but a populist method for gaining votes. They should concentrate on improving civic schools and hospitals,” said Rajkumar Sharma, co-ordinator, AGNI, which is working in the field of voter awareness.
