New Delhi: With the Gujarat elections round the corner, the virtual world has become the new hub for political propaganda.
E-mails are sent out daily to over 1 lakh people.
Popular sites like Orkut and YouTube are already abuzz with campaign fever. You can even get the latest from your favourite leader and party on such sites.
In fact, such sites are now flooded with pro-Modi footage.
Ring-tones, wallpapers, songs and photographs of the Gujarat CM are also being offered on several web-sites who are clearly out to champion the maligned leader.
"Our focus is to target the Internet and Mobile. And the four ways are through website, email, mass SMS and networking sites like YouTube and Orkut. Modi is, of course, the star, so we are projecting him," said ++++++
The BJP has claimed 15,000 hits for its videos while its arch-rivals, the Congress, have clearly made their impact felt with mass SMSs and live web-casts.
However, in a state like Gujarat, such blitzkriegs could easily turn nasty and so, the Election Commission is already cracking its whip. Leading mobile service providers have been asked to provide names, numbers and addresses of bulk SMS senders within 15 minutes of such messages being sent out. Also in the works is a blanket ban on bulk SMSs 48 hours before the voting on December 11 and 16.
Meanwhile, far from the pre-election sound and fury, another brand of politics is painting the web red.
These are blogs from the heart of Naxal country. The comments to these blogs are often chilling, but their very existence points to the complete democracy of the web.
The Prime Minister has called Red Terror India's biggest security threat and if that is the case, these write ups expose its heart and its soul.
With inputs from Meghdoot Sharon
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