BJP logs on to Internet, campaigns Obama-style

Going the Obama way to reach out to millions of people, Bharatiya Janata Party is launching 'Advani TV' via IPTV technique to build the popularity of L K Advani, the party's prime ministerial candidate, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.

The party has made arrangements to live telecast all functions to be attended by Advani through the dedicated portal www.lkadvani.in, which is a first in Indian politics.

"It is an era of IPTV and the party has rightly decided to use the latest technology to cater the coverage of L K Advani's campaign trail in the comfort of their homes to every person who wishes to see him live," party's IT cell chief Pradyut Bora told PTI.

Netizens will be able to watch every event of Advani at the click of a mouse.

The party experimented the 'Advani TV' by telecasting the release of Tamil version of Advani's autobiography 'My Country, My Life' in Chennai held Wednesday last.

IPTV as a technology could be new to India, but in the American presidential polls, each and every step right from the candidature acceptance speech to the victory speech of Barack Obama was watched world over through this technology.

"The website www.mycountrymylife.com has been witnessing more than a lakh hits every month. Encouraged by the response, the party decided to launch a dedicated portal for the prime ministerial candidate and this addition of the live coverage through IPTV is slated to increase the popularity of the portal manifold," Bora said.

Meanwhile, Advani himself is excited about the internet mode of campaigning and seems to be taking the feedback by the netizens very seriously.

"Within a week of its launch, my website have received so many suggestions that I feel that my poll manifesto is almost ready. I am excited at the response of the visitors to the portal," Advani said in New Delhi.

Advani, speaking at the launch the web-portal of party's Delhi chief ministerial candidate Vijay Kumar Malhotra on Saturday, adored internet to be the third most important invention in human history after wheel and electricity.