Bihar's ruling Janata Dal (United), in an attempt to reach out to the voters amid the coronavirus pandemic, has created a digital platform on which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will kick-off his election campaign with a virtual rally on September 6, party sources said on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who is also JD(U)'s national president, will formally inaugurate the digital platform "jdulive.com" soon so that it can be used for the virtual rally, the party's national secretary Ravindra Prasad Singh said in a statement.
"Party Chief and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will hold 'Jan Samvad', during which he will address the party's first ever virtual rally using the digital platform on September 6," Mr Singh said, claiming it will be the country's first dedicated virtual rally platform which can connect lakhs of people.
Assembly polls in Bihar are expected in October-November.
Considering the prevalence of coronavirus cases in the state, the ruling party, like its ally BJP, is bracing to use technology to connect with the electorate ahead of the Assembly elections.
JD(U)'s platform has the capacity to link 10 lakh people, who will be able to watch the rally live besides connecting directly with it, he said.
In addition to streaming the public rally live on jdulive.com, it will also be broadcast on other social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube along with live coverage by the news channels, he added.
Similar to its NDA partner BJP, which has been extensively using virtual platform to connect with the people in every manner, the JD(U) is also planning to take a digital route, keeping in mind limited scope for campaigning on the ground amid the pandemic and detailed guidelines issued by the Election Commission in the changed circumstances.
"At a time when COVID pandemic is affecting everything, we have to search for some out-of-box solution," Mr Singh said, adding that the party can not be left behind when technology can be used easily and effectively without jeopardizing peoples' lives.
BJP held its two-day state executive committee meeting on August 22-23 through the virtual medium which was addressed by its national president JP Nadda, general secretary (organization) BL Santhosh, general secretary Bhupender Yadav and some state leaders including Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi.
The Election Commission had on August 21 issued guidelines for holding elections during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The guidelines put several curbs on campaigning, voting as well as the counting process.
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