Obama factor gives Advani the edge

Welcome to a newly connected India, where some politicians are embracing technology to connect with the masses in a bid to win their vote in the forthcoming election. For L K Advani, the octogenarian BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) candidate for prime minister, who has been targeting young voters, there was perhaps no better option than to launch a blog. For a person who has been participating in the general elections since 1952, and in a country that has been a hi-tech hub for several years, the move might seem to be coming late. Yet it is timely in the sense that the cybermedia have only just started to become popular in the country.

The influence of Obama in Mr Advani's efforts is unmistakable. The US election has been an eye-opener for the veteran politician who is out to use technology to his optimum advantage as he scours the internet like a member of Generation Y. "It appears to be in the same lines that the American president Barack Obama had taken," one post points out. The blog, http://blog.lkadvani.in, has generated an overwhelming response and perhaps has already given Mr Advani an edge over his opponents as well as those of his party.

The BJP leader makes the promise to implement the "Ladli Laxmi Yojana" (a welfare scheme for the girl child) in every state if brought to power, in an effort . This is a clear effort to woo female voters. Many comments on the site have praised the scheme, while some have expressed scepticism, saying he is using the campaign as a trap for the poor who are unable to bear the expenses of their girls. Instead of helping women, they say the scheme will make parents dependent on it and compel them to vote for the BJP.

Blog writers point out that Mr Advani needs to address other vexing issues, such as women's health care, shelter, access to clean water, sanitation, employment and so on. Without all this, his efforts to significantly attract women's votes may go unfulfilled. He does promise to take on the country's corruption issue in earnest, however. That's a start. With elections beginning in less than three weeks, he is perhaps aware of all this like never before, thanks to the blog and the comments it has generated. It needs to be seen how he tackles all these questions during the campaign.