A picture of Congress candidate Narasingha Mishra put up on Facebook

Balangir, March 30: Contestants for the Assembly seat here are increasingly turning to social media to campaign ahead of the election.

Every day, more and more posts, pictures and status updates of the candidates are appearing in social networking sites, especially Facebook.

While for the supporters of BJD candidate Ananga Uday Singh Deo and Congress candidate Narasingha Mishra, are doing it for their leaders, BJP candidate Basudev Pati himself posts updates every day to stay in touch with his supporters.

The Balangir Assembly constituency has 2.1 lakh voters. According to an estimate, 70 per cent of them are Internet users. With the poll campaign going hi-tech, the candidates are out to take full advantage of it and their young supporters are helping them reach out to potential voters through Facebook. They post photos of campaigns, posters and status updates of their leaders on a daily basis.

Suraj Mishra, who is on Twitter and Facebook, said most urban youths today use social media to stay connected to people. Mishra, who is a supporter of Congress candidate Narasingha Mishra, said that he, along with some friends, tracks the campaign of Mishra through his posts, photos and messages.

“Almost half of the total voters of Balangir Assembly constituency belong to the urban and semi-urban areas and most of them use social media such as Facebook and Youtube to stay connected. We target these voters through our posts and pictures,” he said.

In a recent picture on Facebook, Congress candidate Mishra was seen meeting people and seeking votes at Rugudipada. A video of Mishra has also doing rounds on Facebook and Youtube in which he has slammed the royal family for stalling the medical college and hospital in Balangir for the last 15 years. Mishra has an official Facebook page that is getting scores of “likes” everyday.

BJP candidate Basudev Pati seems to be using the social media more successfully than other leaders. He has his own account on Facebook and he himself posts the photos and updates his status everyday after finishing his daily campaigning. He also invites questions and suggestions from Facebook users and potential voters in regard to development of the constituency.

BJD candidate A.U. Singh Deo is not far behind. He has engaged some youths who are posting photos, posters and status updates highlighting him and his party.