New Delhi: Facebook has requested Rahul Gandhi for ‘Q n A’ on the social media giant’s website for India’s 93m users ahead of the upcoming general elections. All the big names from politics will be grilled: Narendra Modi, the BJP’s candidate for PM; Arvind Kejriwal, the upstart face of the anti-corruption Aam Aadmi Party; Mamata Banerjee, India’s most prominent woman Chief Minister; Lalu Prasad Yadav, the former railway minister recently convicted of corruption; and Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the country’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh.
According to Wall street journal, there’s only one notable absentee from the list: Rahul Gandhi, the vice-president of the ruling Congress party. The organisers have requested the scion of India’s powerful Nehru-Gandhi family to take part in the forum which will see users and audience members made up of students, farmers, labourers, businessmen, professionals and journalists.
Since Thursday morning, Facebook users have been able to post questions for the first interview with Modi on the Facebook India Page. Election Commission data released this week shows that a record 815 m Indians will be eligible to vote in the upcoming elections.