Focusing on the youth, the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in Uttar Pradesh has enlisted around 5000 young volunteers to run an election campaign for it in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lok Sabha constituency. Varanasi will go to polls in the last phase of Assembly elections, on March 8.
The alliance reached out to the youth through an online campaign called 'Chalo Kashi', inviting interns who were interested to work in Varanasi and promote the two parties in the Assembly constituencies in the region. Those who registered online as volunteers had to choose the specific constituency they wanted to work in, and they have been assigned campaign duties such as street plays, door-to-door outreach etc.
As of now, around 5000 volunteers from all over the country have become part of the campaign and are involved in digital and on-ground promotional activities.
Besides, taking off on the chaiwala antecedents of Modi, which he proudly talks about, volunteers from the Benaras Hindu University and the Indian Institute of Technology have been assigned the task of reaching out to tea vendors and make them a part of the alliance's campaign. They are being given T-shirts which read 'UP Ko Ye Saath Pasand Hai', and a 30-second video that says 'Main Banaras Ka Chaiwala Hoon, Aur Mera Saath Akhilesh-Rahul Ke Gathbandhan Ko Hai' is being shared on digital platforms and being played as part of the on-ground campaign of the alliance.
In addition, about 100 volunteers per assembly constituency are carrying out a door-to-door campaign, giving a letter from Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to every household.
The alliance has also launched a 'Dard-E-Banaras' campaign, which is being run by students of the BHU and the IIT, and which highlights through testimonials of the local people of Varanasi, the alleged neglect of the constituency by Modi. The videos are being played as part of the on-ground campaign as well as on social media. The two minute videos have so far reached, through Facebook and Whatsapp groups, around 8,86,000 people.
