CPI(M) Graduates From Graffiti to Social Media for Brigade Rally

After long years of painting slogans, pasting posters and distributing leaflets ahead of rallies and gatherings, the Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s West Bengal unit has started preparing for its People’s Brigade Rally on February 3 by going all out to spread messaging and mobilising via social media.

The rally in Kolkata’s famed Brigade Ground is being held alongside preparations for the all-India industrial strike call by 10 central trade unions on January 8 and 9. Hundreds of thousands of people from all over the state are expected to take part in the rally, said sources.

Realising the importance of social media in today’s society, as more and more people from all classes are starting to use smartphones and have access to the internet via handheld devices, the Left party has started a ‘people’s engagement’ campaign on its Facebook page and Twitter handle.

 The idea is to involve people from across the state, said a person involved in the campaign, adding that people have been invited to send posters, graphics, poems, and all other forms of art created by them to the party’s social media handles, so that those can be used to spread more awareness about the meeting. 

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People have also been invited to share small videos, talking about their experiences of earlier Brigade meetings, or about why they would attend the meeting this time. The users sending posters and artwork can choose to be anonymous if they wish to, the source said.

Talking to media, one of the members of the state committee said that the submissions that come from the people will be used as ‘teasers’ for the meeting. 
 

In recent times, the CPI(M) in West Bengal also used the social media for promoting the Singur-Raj Bhavan long march that was organised by All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers’ Union (AIAWU) on November 28 and 29, during which more than 50,000 people walked down the streets of Kolkata.