An+Nguyen+-+Impact+of+Technology+on+National+Election+Campaign+in+India

An Nguyen Professor Yajnik LAC 1000C 21 April 2014 Impact of Technology on National Election Campaign in India In this year’s general election in India, technology will play a critical role in deciding the country’s 16th government. With more than 814 million people entitled to vote in the upcoming general election, the people of India anticipates the largest democratic election in its history. To prepare for this democratic event, voting officials in India have implemented a new automatic system of casting votes. Additionally, politicians in this year’s elections have been generating interests from the people of India by promoting party ideologies and campaign talking-points on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter.

This year’s general election in India is the largest democratic event in history. With more than 814 million people registered to vote, India’s citizens anticipate an exhausting race. This year, however, new technology will help ease the six-week polling process scheduled to begin on April 7th and conclude on May 12th. The results of the election will be announced on May 16th. The most significant technological change to India’s general elections is the implementation of electronic voting machines or EVMs. These devices will help India run a less expensive election. Each electronic voting machine unit costs about 10,500 Indian rupees or $175. These cost-effective units will help ease the hectic polling process by eliminating paper ballots and long lines.

According to an article from The Atlantic, there will be more than 935,000 polling stations in India and crucial to the polling process are the more than 1.7 million electronic voting machines that can help this election run smoothly and efficiently. In addition to the cost-effective method of voting this year, electronic voting machines have allowed for a more widely accessible election. For example, electronic voting machines can withstand India’s diverse climate. This has allowed for a more effective polling process in areas where climate is an issue. Additionally, electronic voting machines are powered by batteries, which allows for portability. This has allowed polling stations to reach areas of India where there is limited or no electricity. This can help India reach out to rural areas of India. Electronic voting machines are also symbol-oriented and multilingual. The symbol-oriented design will allow the more than 287 million illiterate adults in India to easily cast their vote. The devices are also multilingual, which allows for more accessibility to India’s vast languages. In fact, the electronic voting machine is accessible in 22 official-language of India and hundreds of unofficial languages.

With such an event, engaging interests from the people of India and capturing votes is critical to a successful campaign and election. Indian politicians are estimated to spend as much as $4.9 billion during the election on their campaigns, which is scheduled to end in May. To reach out to the masses of people in India, politicians have turned to technology and social media. According to the Centre for Media Studies, Indian politicians will spend triple the amount of 2009’s general election. This sets this year’s election as the second most expensive election of all time, behind the 2012 U.S. presidential elections. In the 2012 U.S. presidential elections, politicians spent an estimated $7 billion.

With the amount of campaign funding politicians must raise for the election, politicians have turned to Internet platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to speak to and influence voters. Politicians are especially interested in reaching out to Internet-savvy first-time voters. Having a YouTube channel dedicated to speaking out about issues India faces will be as crucial as having mass meetings, assemblies, and gatherings. For example, in April of 2014, supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were encouraged to donate a tweet on Twitter or a Facebook status to the party. A few hundred tweets or statuses will reach out to hundreds of thousands or millions of other potential voters. The Aam Aadmi Party has also generated huge interest from young, urban, and tech-savvy voters in India.

According to a CNN article, there are more than 200 million Internet users in India. Most of them are young people who live in urban cities in India. This demographic is socially active online. Outside of the United States, they comprise the highest Twitter and Facebook usage in the world. The amount of influence politicians are able to capture from this demographic can translate to votes. In fact, Rajul Gandhi, one of the main candidates in the election, of the INC party has created a Facebook page to generate the interest of voters. His page currently has 355,000 Likes. The opposing candidate of the BJP party, Narendra Modi, has more than 13 million Likes and 2.1 Followers or Fans. Social media is a strong tool for politicians to use to capture influence with votes. Despite a large population of India remains without technology, the impact of online political campaigns remains powerful.

To help this year’s polling process manage smoothly and effectively, India is equipped with compact electronic voting machines. Technology has allowed voting officials to organize an effective polling process. This has helped keep votes secure and the polling process easy to manage. Social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, have become the new field of political warfare for India’s nationwide parliamentary elections. This election is not only the most technological advanced election in India’s history, but it is also the first election that involves intense social media campaigns devoted to capturing votes.

Works Cited Ford, Matt. "Indian Democracy Runs on Briefcase-Sized Voting Machines." //Atlantic// 15 April 2014, n. pag. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. . Goklany, Tania. "#NarendraModi: How the BJP leader." //Hindustan Times// [New Delhi] 11 March 2014, n. pag. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. . Mashru, Ram. "India’s Record-Breaking 2014 Elections." //Diplomat// 13 March 2014, n. pag. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. . Singh, Rajesh. "India set to challenge U.S. for election-spending record." //Reuters// [New Delhi] 9 March 2014, n. pag. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. . Taylor, Adam. "What 100 days of social media can tell us about India’s election." //Washington Post// 16 April 2014, n. pag. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. .