Assembly Elections 2022: Women leaders use Koo app to consolidate digital presence amid rally ban

Women leaders across political parties are wooing voters on social media ahead of what many call first 'virtual’ election in five states beginning later this week. With physical rallies and road shows being banned, the parties have fallen back on technology to make the most of the digital campaign.

Women constitute a key segment of the electorate in all poll-bound states – Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur – and their participation in previous polls has surpassed that of the male voter base. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the participation of women voters was around 67.18 percent, more than 67.01 percent recorded by male counterparts.

READ : EC poll rally ban in UP: Here’s why BJP has the edge over other parties in digital campaigning

This time round, parties are roping in key women leaders to engage and establish a better connect with women voters across constituencies.  Though the Congress party set the stage through Priyanka Gandhi’s ‘Ladki Hoon, Lad Sakti Hoon’ campaign aimed at influencing the electorate, other parties are not lagging behind.

Koo App

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प्रयागराज की करछना विधानसभा क्षेत्र से भाजपा, निषाद पार्टी के प्रत्याशी श्री पियूष रंजन निषाद के नामांकन में उपस्थित रही.

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- Rita Bahuguna Joshi (@RitaBJoshi) 7 Feb 2022

While the leaders are making their presence felt across most social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and messaging fora like WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram, among others, they are also trying to consolidate their digital presence by joining the Koo App – the local Hindi micro-blogging platform.

Women leaders like Rita Bahuguna Joshi of Uttar Pradesh, Malvika Sood of Punjab,  Aparna Yadav of UP, to name a few, are seen actively participating in the public discourse and campaigning on social media platforms.

Koo App

Moga needs Moga’s daughter

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- Malvika Sood (@malvikasood) 8 Feb 2022

Last year, amid Twitter's clash with the Centre, several ministers tweeted that they were moving to a “made in India” microblogging platform, Koo.