more-in BJP national president Amit Shah is now a part of close to 1,800 WhatsApp groups being formed by the Delhi unit with an aim to communicate with party workers and keep tabs on the political pulse of people. According to party sources, Mr. Shah is a member of each group via a single chosen number which is being monitored at the party’s central office. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, senior office-bearers, leaders and members are also a part of these groups. The groups are, said a Delhi BJP source, open to “like-minded members of the general public” who could be nominated to be a part of them by senior party hands. Mr. Shah had, at a volunteers' meeting a month ago, directed the workers to “efficiently and effectively utilise WhatsApp” in the Capital as a significant electoral strategy for the BJP in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. As many as 1,770 of the targeted 1,800 WhatsApp groups had been created till Saturday evening with 256 members each, totalling over 4.5 lakh participants, said Neelkant Bakshi, head, media relations, and co-incharge of the Delhi BJP’s social media unit. The remaining groups are in the process of being formed, he added. “Our objective is to ensure that the party’s message and the achievements of the government reach each end user directly. It is also to ensure that any kind of propaganda, especially in the form of fake news against the party, is identified and checked,” Mr. Bakshi told The Hindu. “These groups will ensure that issues of relevance to the people and the political pulse on the ground are communicated to the party. Any like-minded citizen can be a part of the group(s) as and when suggested by, say, the district incharge or other office-bearers of a particular area,” Mr. Bakshi added. At the conclusion of his interaction with party volunteers in Delhi on June 21, Mr. Shah had told them to use social media to ensure effective and nuanced counters to the “Opposition’s propaganda”, said the party source.

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