BJP,Cong candidates take to blogs to slug it out in West Delhi

While a post on Mukhi’s blog http://www.jagdishmukhi.blogspot.com has blamed the UPA government for not opening enough educational institutions in West Delhi,the latest entry in Mishra’s blog (www.mahabalmishra.blogspot.com) praises Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and promises to emulate him in “accomplishing this myriad task of bringing all communities together”.

Mishra has also put his campaign motto on his blog by talking about open drains in the constituency that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes. “As a strong believer in quality civic life,I would like to ensure that these drains,after being covered,are converted into green zones,” the Congress candidate writes.

The headline is well thought-out: “Drain,what a pain”. But neither the headline nor the body appeal to a reader who has left a comment: “The Congress has been in power for so long in Delhi,why are the drains still not covered?”

In comparison,Mukhi’s blog is a tad dull — it consists mostly of press releases of self-adulation; his website is better maintained and allows anyone to sign up for such releases. It also contains a timetable of all his visits during the day in the run-up to the D-day: May 7.

Mishra,on the other hand,uses his blog — called “Live my dreams” — as a forum to jot down his thoughts on issues of human interest,though it has few posts. But Mukhi’s blog scores on the looks front: it’s more colorful,with pictures alongside almost all entries.

While Mishra created his blog on April 7 specifically for the upcoming elections,Mukhi’s is around five months old — it coincided with the Delhi Assembly elections.

The two leaders’ sons,meanwhile,say blogs play an important role in connecting to Internet users,mostly youths who do not usually involve themselves in rallies and public meetings.

Vinay Mishra says,“The blog was my father’s idea — he is very Net-savvy. We sit down every evening and he tells me what to post.”