With the election campaign well under way it is interesting to see how some Asians are being asked to vote on specific lines.

Now, if you actually look at elections are run within the community some would suggest you are likely to vote for the most ‘Muslim friendly’ candidate. It may happen in some instances but on the whole ‘Muslim friendly’ does not necessarily guarantee you votes.

It has been argued that many Muslims are not too concerned about which candidate is going to be ‘Muslim Friendly’ because if we were, we wouldn’t have voted in some very dubious characters in the past.

The reason many of us have come to this conclusion is that we feel certain votes will always be set aside for certain people.

But is this really true anymore?

Trying to guarantee votes on biradari or caste lines may be ones downfall.

In the past four decades many politicians have managed to get themselves elected by relying heavily on ‘block votes’.

Essentially, local councillors and campaigners encourage their family members and affiliated friends from their own caste to vote for one particular candidate. It is very a block vote that backs one candidate.

What has been quite alarming is how publicly candidates liked to distance themselves from such a system whilst privately supporting it. Well, one has to get elected.

With the onset of social media candidates have direct contact with the voters.

Voters can contact their candidates almost instantly.

What this has resulted in is the demise of the traditional ‘community leader’ types who would aim to be these semi power brokers.

Already in this election campaign we have seen a slight shift as to how many people are engaging with the candidates. They want any answers - they can get them directly.

They can pose uncomfortable questions and ask for specific issues to be addressed.

The death of the middle-man is evident even if they don’t realise it themselves.

Candidates looking to garner the Asian vote would be best suited to realising the dynamics have slowly changed and their voters want them to speak to them directly rather than be ‘introduced’.

There is also a huge young Asian population who has very little affiliation to the ‘castes’ of their forefathers. In some quarters and neighbourhoods this remains strong but largely this is decline.

Candidates have a clear opportunity to reach out directly to the audience. It is time they used it.