JD-U to launch app for election campaign

Patna, Aug 25 (IANS) The ruling Janata Dal-United (JD-U) in Bihar has developed an digital application of its own -- JDU Live -- to connect virtually with the voters in the run up to the Assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD-U leader Nitish Kumar is expected to launch the app on September 2, a party source said on Tuesday. He is also expected to address a virtual rally on September 6. The app is currently being tested under the supervision of Water Resource Minister Sanjay Jha. An expert team of the JD-U IT cell is working on it.JD-U workers have been asked to install the app as soon as it is launched. Besides this app, the party will also use other digital modes like Facebook Live, WhatsApp, YouTube etc. to connect with the voters. The JD-U is expecting to reach out to at least 31 lakh voters through different digital platforms.A JD-U source said the Chief Minister has given an assignment to the party workers to connect with 20,000 digital users in each of the 69 constituencies JD-U has in its kitty. Besides, 10,000 other users have been asked to gear up in each seat in the remaining 172 constituencies. There are 243 seats in the state Assembly.Ashok Chaudhary, a Cabinet minister in the Nitish Kumar government, said: "We have an expectation to directly connect with voters through this app. Besides, at block level, the ground level party workers have been asked for the arrangement screens so that maximum numbers of voters would watch the virtual rally of CM Nitish Kumar while following social distancing norms."
--IANS str/pgh