Impact of Technology on National Election Campaign in India

Credit: CNN

An Nguyen

Facts About 2014 India General Election Elections will take

place from April 7, 2014 to May 12, 2014 Nine polling days

spread across six weeks

They will elect members of the 16th government of India

The results of the election will be declared on May 16th, 2014

Credit: Associated Press

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Primary Candidates•Rahul Gandhi•Indian National Congress (INC)

•Incumbent Party•Main Talking-Points:

•Universal healthcare•Pensions for the aged and disabled

•Narendra Modi•Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)•Main Talking-Points:

•Improve economy and infrastructure•Eliminate corruption

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Other primary candidates include: Dr. Manmohan Singh (Current Prime Minister) of the INC and Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party

The Biggest Election in History More than 814 million people are eligible to vote in

2014 Indian politicians are estimated to spend about $5

billion on campaigning: Fundraising Advertising Outreach Rallies

The 2014 general election will cost three times the amount spent in India’s previous national vote in 2009

To reach out to the masses of people in India, politicians have turned to technology and social media

Politicians realize the impact of the youth vote More than 20 million are first-time voters between 18-19

years

Technology Impact on the Election Voters will visit 930,000 polling booths to cast

their votes using 1.7 million electronic voting machines, or EVMs

A polling official carries an EVM after collecting it from a distribution center in Kerala, India.

Credit: Sivaram V./Reuters

Electronic Voting Machines Compact and portable, affordable, and durable

Designed to withstand India’s diverse climates Powered by two alkaline batteries

Easily used in rural areas of India where there is limited or no electricity

Each unit costs only 10,500 Indian rupees, or about $175

Symbol-oriented design Voting will be more widely accessible in a country with

287 million illiterate adults Multilingual electorate that speaks 22 officially-

recognized languages and hundreds of unofficial languages

Using Social Media as Political Warfare to Capture Votes 200 million Internet users in India

This demographic makes for the highest Twitter and Facebook usage in the world, outside of the United States

24 million voters aged 18 to 19 will be polling for the first time in an election in which social media and internet-based campaigning are critical outreach strategies Twitter, Facebook, Google Hangouts, and mobile

crowd sourcing provide social and internet-based campaigning battlegrounds

Social Media More Exposure More Votes!

Rajul GandhiFacebook: 355,000 Likes

Narendra ModiFacebook: 13 Million Likes + 2.1 Million Fans

Credit: Simplify360

“The two biggest names – Modi and Gandhi – are not the most talked about on social media…” (Washington Post)

Arvind Kejriwal is dominating social media because his party has capture the attention of young voters familiar with online platforms. The party’s anti-corruption views resonate with the young, tech-savvy, and urban populations.