Left parties turn to social media to reach voters in TN bypolls
Chennai: Candidate-focused social media pages, WhatsApp groups, and dedicated channels are shaping the Left parties’ outreach in Tamil Nadu’s Madurantakam and Dharapuram, where the CPI and CPI(M) are using digital platforms to connect with voters ahead of the Assembly bypolls.
Having largely contested elections within alliances, the parties are drawing on their cadre networks to circulate campaign updates, present their candidates’ views and bring attention to local issues flagged by voters.
Party functionaries said workers and supporters are sharing the material voluntarily through WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram. The campaigns do not involve paid promotions or bulk SMS messaging, they added.
The CPI(M)’s Madurantakam campaign alone has established over 100 WhatsApp groups. S. Kannan, the party’s campaign in-charge, said each brings together roughly 30 party members and 300-500 voters drawn from the locality concerned. The groups provide an avenue for circulating campaign messages among voters while helping party workers coordinate their activities across different parts of the constituency.
The CPI(M) has also established a dedicated WhatsApp channel and separate Facebook and Instagram pages for the bypoll, said Suthir, the party’s state social media in-charge. Its social media pages carry the title “Vote for Suganthi”, placing the Madurantakam candidate at the centre of the party’s online campaign.
The platforms are being used to share her positions and the party’s views on public issues. To connect its printed publicity material with its digital campaign, the CPI(M) has included QR codes on pamphlets distributed to voters. Scanning the codes enables residents to follow campaign updates and access the party’s views through its online platforms.
In Dharapuram, the CPI has organised its digital outreach by dividing the constituency into three parts. It has created a WhatsApp channel for each section under the title “Dharapuram Idathu Pakkam”, which party members translate as “Dharapuram is for the Left”.
Around 100 WhatsApp groups have also been formed in the constituency, giving the party an additional network for distributing messages and coordinating campaign work. Across both constituencies, the approach combines party organisation with digital communication. Cadres circulate material through groups, while dedicated channels and social media pages allow voters to follow the campaign.
The two parties are extending their outreach through platforms already used by voters, with supporters carrying their messages into networks as campaigning continues in Madurantakam and Dharapuram.