In Kerala, social media platforms have emerged as a boon for most candidates contesting the upcoming assembly elections.
In an attempt to woo young voters, many politicians have become active members of various social media platforms. However, apart from interacting with voters, some of the candidates have also been using Facebook to raise funds for their election campaigning.
One such candidate is UDF’s VT Balram, who is contesting from the Thrithala segment. A few days back, the incumbent MLA took to Facebook and requested his friends to contribute ‘generously’ to his election fund.
Talking about his decision to raise funds from Facebook, VT Balram says, “We used to crowd source funds in every election. It is just that this time we have taken to new media to do the same. So, at the end of the day it’s the same old traditional way of crowd sourcing with a new media twist to it.”
Till date, he has received around Rs 2 lakh from Facebook supporters. “The donations range from Rs 10 to Rs 10,000,” he said.
“A lot of people across Kerala wanted to support me but they might not have votes in the Thrithala constituency. So this is also an opportunity for them to help me in this election,” he added.
The CPI (M) has also joined the league, with the party trying to crowd source funds from its followers on Facebook through an online donation campaign.
CPI (M) Politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan has been putting up various posts urging everyone to contribute to the party’s campaign funds.
In one of his Facebook posts, he accused the UDF and BJP of sourcing funds from corruption related activities and corporate donations respectively. The LDF, on the other hand, sustains its election campaigning through contributions made by common people, he said. See the original post here.
Further, CPI (M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has been sharing posts about the party’s ‘democratic’ way of fund raising as well.
The official Facebook page of the party has also been uploading videos in this regard.