Role of Technology in Indian PoliticsA study of 2014 Parliamentary

Elections
Undertaken At
Delhi Institute of Advanced Studies, Rohini

Under The Guidance Of

Submitted By

Mrs Tripti Mishra

Bisht

Jagmohan Singh
Amal Ahmed
Manika Chhabra
Abhishek Chhabra
MBA 1-B

Session 2014 2016

Key Highlights of 2014 India's General Election
- Roughly 814.5 million people are registered to vote, an increase of more
than 100 million since the last parliamentary election in 2009. In other words,
India has added a population greater than that of the Philippines to its voter rolls
in five years.
- Of those, over 23 million are between 18 to 19 years old. A surge in
enrolment in this age group means they now constitute 2.88 percent of total
voters, against 0.75 percent in 2009.
- Election dates in parliamentary constituencies were set taking into
consideration extreme summer heat, monsoon rains, harvest seasons, religious
festivals and most importantly, school exams. Most polling stations are placed in
schools.
-Voters will cast their ballots in about 930,000 polling stations, an increase of
nearly 12 percent since 2009.
-There are 11,844 non-resident Indians registered to vote in the election this
year.
- Transgender persons can mark their gender as "Others" on the electoral
rolls, a category that did not exist in 2009. 28,314 voters have listed their gender
in this way.
- For the first time in a general election, voters will have a "None of the Above"
option on the ballot papers and electronic voting machines.
-It is estimated that out of a population of 1.2 billion plus, around 160 million
people in India are active users of online services and various social media
and email platforms. Indian democracy is on the cusp of a revolution led by
technology and social media users.

- A recent study by the IRIS Knowledge Foundation and the Internet and Mobile
Association of India which found that social media could influence the
electoral outcome in as many as 160 out of 543 constituencies represented
in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Indian Parliament. These constituencies
are mostly located in urban pockets where the Internet is widely used.
- To curb "the abuse of money power" during the elections, "flying
squads" and static surveillance teams will guard against the distribution
of cash or other bribes to voters. Committees will also keep their eyes
peeled for illegal election advertisements and politically funded stories
planted in the media.
- The income tax department and the government's financial
intelligence unit have been instructed to keep watch on the movement of
cash during elections. In previous elections, political operatives were
caught driving with suitcases packed with cash in their car trunks.
- The Election Commission will monitor production, storage and
distribution of liquor during elections. Indian political parties are notorious for
handing out alcohol and even prescription medication as bribes to voters.

Use of Technology in 2014 Parliamentary Elections

Use of Technology by Election Commission
Use of Technology by Political Parties/Leaders
Use of Technology by common man/people
Use of Technology by Election Commission:
The Election Commission had tried to bring improvements in election
procedures by introduction of EVM Electronic Voting Machines.
The Election Commission making use of Information Technology launched
a web site of its own on 28 February 1998. It helps to provide accurate
information, management, administration and instant results of the
elections. In 1998, Election Commission decided programme for
'computerisations' of the electoral rolls.
To prevent electoral fraud, in 1993 EPICs Electorals Photo Identity Cards
were issued. In 2004 elections, it was mandatory to possess card.
In January 2013, the Election Commission of India announced that it would
be using an SMS based alert system called Communication Plan for
Election (COMET) during the election. The system, aimed at sending
messages to the lakhs of government officials on election duty. The
COMET system "uses coded text messages through mobile phones to
collect data about officials, information about scheduled events like staff
reaching the polling station, mock polls conducted, start of polling, voting
percentages every two hours, number of voters in after voting time was
over, and whether the poll party reached safely at the high security
Electronic Voting Machine (EVMs) deposit centre." The system would also
send alerts to the local police in case of disturbances at any polling station.
Web streaming technology has been used by the Election Commission in
recent elections.

 The Gujarat Election Commission used Web casting for the first time in the
2009 Lok Sabha election;
The Gujarat Election Commission had also used an SMS monitoring
system through which they are able to directly connect to each and every
polling booth and get information from them every two hours. They have
the GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping of all the polling
stations on the Election Commission's Gujarat Web site.

Use of Technology by Political Parties/Leaders:

Below are the Tools of New Technology used by different Political Parites/
Political Leader in 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections
Use of web-conferencing
Face book Accounts
Twitter Accounts
YouTube Videos
Google+ Hangouts

3D holographic projection technology

Tools Use by Shree Narendra Modi:

Modi hangs out--1,260,000
Twit for tat3631683
Live streaming online Youtube---272,871
Facebooking on the campaign trail---12,103,072 Likes, 1,021,670 Talking

Tools used by BJP

Mobile Applications used by Political Parties

Google launches an elections portal in India

Google, today announced the launch of an elections portal
www.google.co.in/elections that will assist voters in India to understand the
electoral process, get access to all the news related to elections and
politics, get detailed information on specific political parties. The Elections
Portal will serve as a one stop destination to help voters get answers to
their elections and voting-related queries to make an informed decision.

The portal will cover news information and videos related to elections
covering news from leading publications and broadcasters both in English
and Hindi. Users will also be able to watch content hosted by YouTube
partners for elections and links to Hangouts done by political
representatives in the recent past.

In addition to this, the portal will also offer information on how to register for
voting along with a section on frequently asked questions around voting
and registration. Our intent is to empower voters with all the information
they need at a single destination for upcoming general elections. Over time
we will add more functionality to enable users to interact and engage with
the candidates, so that they are not simply watching from afar, but
participating in, engaging with and shaping the political process in a
democratic way.

 With over 200 million Internet users in the country, the Internet audience in
India has reached a critical scale and will play an important role in
influencing the decisions of a large proportion of the urban Indian
population in the upcoming elections. Elections related search queries on
Google have shown a considerable increase and the interest in news
information related to elections and politics have started to peak. Leading
political parties are active on most social media platforms, and users will be
able to access all the information sent out by the political parties on
platforms like YouTube, Google+ and connect directly with the candidates
in their constituency.

Advantages of using Technology:

Reach very fast

 Cost-effective
Generating campaign donations
Building trust
Passes to users quickly
Reached just by single click
Repeat cost is very low

Disadvantages of using Technology:

Risk of negative comments
Fraud
News travels quickly
Takes on persona of author
High risk of wrong/negative reactions

Conclusion:
Addressing IT professionals at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum (NILF)
2014, Modi spoke about 'transforming India through technology'. "Use of IT can

put India on the road to fast and inclusive growth. We need to empower the
youth of the country," Modi emphasised.
Expressing confidence on the potential of IT sector, Modi said, "I keep
saying IT+ IT = IT (Indian Talent+ Information Technology = India
Tomorrow).
The IT sector can be the shining light of Brand India."
Talking about his vision of creating a 'Digital India', Modi said, "India should
become a digital India, which is a knowledge-based society and economy.
By 2022, when we celebrate 75 years of freedom, we must be a different
nation. And IT can be the growth engine of New India," he said.
Among the many changes these new voters are pushing for is a more
inclusive political dialogue. The rise of social media and other
technology has changed the way Indian youth expect to relate to their
leaders. Social media is helping to bolster India's democratic values, by
bringing mainstream media and political parties under scrutiny and
providing a more people-centric approach to governance. This is one
of the most intriguing and positive developments in India in decades, laying
the foundation for plurality and transparency in public discourse.
Whichever party or alliance forms the next government after the upcoming
elections, one thing is certain. The runup to India's 2014 general elections
is going to see the combined power and influence of technology and youth
more than ever before. In fact, technology is likely to be the real game
changer, as both a younger and more tech-savvy electorate on one hand,
and political parties on the other, begin to realize and harness that powerful
and sophisticated tool to their advantage.