Congress appoints Tharoor to cross cyber swords with BJP

New Delhi, July 2: The Congress, which is traditionally not known to be a media-savvy party, has decided to mend ways to take on the opponent BJP, a more media-friendly party, over the battle of Twitter.

The Congress has reportedly set up a team under the leadership of Minister of State for Human Resources Development Shashi Tharoor, which also includes MP and former IT executive Deepender Hooda, to take on the BJP over Twitter.

Narendra Modi, the Gujarat chief minister and popular for his microblogging, is believed to be the main adversary that the Congress's new team will look to tackle. Neither Tharoor nor Hooda were available for comment, though.

Both Modi and Tharror have nearly 19 lakh followers on twitter.

The Congress's new strategy to take on the Opposition over Twitter was also seen on Monday when Information and Boradcasting Minister Manish Tewari took on Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj on Twitter after she lashed out at the Uttarakhand government, accusing it of inept handling of the devastating floods that badly affected the state recently.

Former Union minister Ajay Maken, now engaged to improve the Congress's image and organisation, also took on Swaraj over Twitter.

Tharoor's appointment as the 'Twitter-in-chief' marks an irony for four years ago, it was his "cattle class" and "holy cows" remark, which had dawn flak from the Congress.

The party has perhaps understood the power of social media, ever since Modi has come to the fore, and has prepared to lead a counter-charge. The party is also accused of losing all connection with the electorate and with the elections less than a year away, it is making an eleventh-hour arrangement to reconnect with the common people.

Has the move come a bit too late?

OneIndia News