BJP's east UP war room comes up in Varanasi

The BJP’s use of technology has come a long way since the 2004 Lok Sabha polls when the party lost the general election despite all the hype generated by its India Shining campaign.

The BJP’s use of technology has come a long way since the 2004 Lok Sabha polls when the party lost the general election despite all the hype generated by its India Shining campaign.

The BJP's 'war room' for eastern UP at party's central election office here is no more confined to sending pre-recorded messages.

A team of IT experts from Delhi is working round the clock to set up a high-tech IT centre at the central election office. Six volunteers from the Indian Institute of Technology, BHU, are also a part of BJP's IT team.

Amit Shah, the BJP’s UP in-charge will monitor all east UP constituencies from this 'war room' which will also have a call centre.

The IT team is working overnight to collect data on all constituencies in eastern UP, which would go to the polls in the last phase on May 12.

Apart from compiling information on all candidates in the fray, comprehensive data of parliamentary constituencies, caste factors, population, number of voters and deciding factors are among the categories of information being compiled.

"A team of IT professionals has been hired from New Delhi to set up this high-tech IT centre. All eastern UP parliamentary constituencies will be monitored from here," said a senior BJP leader.

A team of media professionals of the BJP, led by national media coordinator Ravi Shankar Prasad, is expected in Varanasi on April 11 to train the party’s local media unit.

"The IT and media teams of the BJP will work in close coordination. Regular meetings of both the teams will be conducted to ensure a proper connect with the masses," said Sanjay Bhardwaj, media in-charge of the BJP’s Varanasi unit.

A strategy to counter negative media coverage, if any, would also be shared by the BJP's national media unit with the local unit, he said.