Both the Telugu Desam Party and the YSRC, amid heat and dust, are fighting a bitter battle for the control of Seemandhra.
The intense electoral tussle has spilled over to World Wide Web (www), as both of them are using the social media – Facebook and Twitter – to the hilt to reach out to people. The unambiguous hatred between the two parties is blatantly visible in the words, photos, cartoons, short-films, caricatures and messages used in Facebook. Some material, much to the disgust of viewers, leaves a bad taste, for they are harsh and indecent.
In Facebook Likes, the TDP has edged out the YSRC by around 62,000 and in Twitter also, the TDP has more number of followers than its arch rival. The TDP has 4, 64, 813 likes, while the YSRC has 4,02,860 likes.
In Twitter, the TDP has 11,700 followers while the YSRC is a distant second with 8,271 likes. However, the numbers keep fluctuating constantly 24x7.
There is a story in YSRC’s Facebook page, which alleges ‘rigging’ of Likes by the TDP from a distant West Asian country - Turkey. The TDP’s Facebook page with dominant red and yellow colours has a beaming NCBN (read Nara Chandra Babu Naidu) with a visual driving home the importance of both agriculture and industry. Remember the bad name NCBN got for neglecting agriculture?
With regular updates, the official verified page of the yellow brigade is full of pictures of the election campaign by both NCBN and NL (read Nara Lokesh).
The viewers and the party cadre are using the platform to express their opinions and comments, and prominent among them is the fervent plea to bring in Junior NTR to bolster the image of the party. They also made use of the forum to wish CBN (read Chandrababu Naidu) a happy birthday. The YSRC’s Facebook page has its chief Jaganmohan Reddy with hands spread out wide with a sea of people as the cover picture. At the right hand corner is his father late Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy with his trademark smile.
The site is also not lagging behind in its update with photos, stories, opinion polls and comments on rallies conducted by the trio - Jagan, Sharmila and Vijayamma.
Interspersed with YSR’s schemes and his achievements, the page allots more space for Jagan and his road shows.
Amid loads of differences, there is one fact that is common to both. The Facebook pages of both the parties were started in 2011.
