KARSTEN MIRANDA
karsten@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: A drive this weekend through Goa will give one a fair idea of who are aspiring candidates for the 2022 Assembly elections. Banners at prominent locations of villages greeting people on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi are an instant giveaway.
But there is another way of singling out the wannabe politicians. With a smart phone in hand all one needs to do is scroll through social media sites to get an idea of who has set eyes on a possible political career. A giveaway between Chaturthi wishes of the common man on social media and those of the politicians is that the latter have a picture of themselves prominently displayed along with the wishes.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and even WhatsApp are filled with colourful messages from the politicians.
Many politicos, such as Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and Leader of the Opposition Digambar Kamat decided to give a more homey touch by sharing special moments of them praying before Ganesh idols at their houses.
Political parties, almost all of them, and several political leaders have come out with videos to extend Chaturthi greetings to the public. Cecille Rodrigues shared a video of her doing a traditional dance in traditional attire, whereas MGP’s Sudin Dhavalikar spoke about the meaning and significance of Ganesh Chaturthi. Revolutionary Goans released a song ‘Goem Rakunk Utay Morya’ which garnered thousands of views within hours of it being released.
“Ultimately, it boils down to these politicians using these platforms to reach out to their voters. In the past, they would use SMS which seemed like a personal message but now they can get more creative with social media tools. The idea is for them to remain in the minds of their voters and festivals like these are the easiest way to send out these broadcasts,” said Mark Fernandes, who works for a social media agency that handles the campaign of some politicians.
Political parties and aspirants have hired such companies to build a base of followers for them online. “When these politicians connect via festivals like say Ganesh Chaturthi, it serves in helping them build their profile and gain more followers. Unlike, say, sending a message to express their view on a political development, a festival is a simple and easy and accepted by all, usually with no controversies,” said Rounak Narvekar, who works as an intermediary between a politician he works for and the social media agency hired for image management.
There was common consensus amongst these agencies that festivals are seen as a bonanza in terms of getting a significant rise in views. They point out that as it is a holiday, people have more time and the more creative the message is, the more likes it gets.
“When we connect with our voters or the public in general through print or electronic media, we try to convey how we feel and very often, we talk about what we believe is the pulse of society. However, with social media, we are immediately able to receive feedback and that can also affect our behaviour as you get a sense if what you are doing is having an impact or not,” said a politician, on the condition of anonymity, while speaking about the large picture regarding the advent of social media.
But it is also on social media that voters get the opportunity of hitting back at the political class.
Following the end of the first day of Ganesh Chaturthi, social media agencies have planned to showcase politicians and their families taking part in traditional rituals and celebrations at their respective houses as well as how they carry out the ‘visarjans’ on the final day.
But one post takes a different turn. Cecil Pinto breaks the political monotony with a dig at the politicians with his post wishing all in the name of, ‘Gomantak Forward Congress of Revolutionary Janata Aadmi Party’ and drives home the point with the tagline below stating, ‘amchi goenchi tambdi mati sambalya’.
