Internet & Democracy An Indian Experience Nikhil Agarwal Research Scholar – ISSTI

Dance of Democracy

Agenda India – An Introduction Economic Facts Republic of India Basic facts about general elections 2004 elections 2009 elections Key Learnings

India With GDP (nominal) $1.23 Trillion India is 11 th largest economy; with GDP (PPP) $3.5 Trillion India is 4 th largest economy. 7 th largest country in terms of Geography. Second largest labour force of 467 million people. 25% of the population lives under poverty. India ranked 3 rd with 69 billionaires in Forbes overall billionaires list after US and China. 600 million mobile users and 90 million internet users (second largest telecom market). Third largest military force in the world. 70% of population lives in rural areas.

Republic of India Parliamentary system 2 houses: Upper House (Rajaya Sabha) 250 members (238 elected by state representatives, 12 nominated) Lower House (Lok Sabha) – 545 members (543 elected, 2 nominated) Usually, the leader of Lok Sabha is chosen as Prime Minister (even Rajaya Sabha MP can be chosen as PM – Current PM is RS MP). President is ceremonial post. Country is divided into 28 states and 8 union territories. Each state has elected Chief Minister & council of ministers. Same central electoral system is followed in states as well.

Elections in India – Basic Facts 2009 General Elections 1.2 billon people - World’s largest democracy Registered voters (total electorate): 714 million (little more than USA & EU combine) Voters who voted in 2009: 417 million Parliamentary seats: 543 Number of EVMs used: 1 million (including reserve)

Elections in India – Basic Facts 2009 General Elections World’s largest e-voting Number of polling booths: 828,804 (687, ’) Total number of candidates: 4648 Total expenditure: $ 300 million govt budget(candidates poured over $1.5 billion through campaigning)

Layout of Polling Station

Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) EVMs introduced in 2004 General Elections. Now 100% election is done through EVMs. EVM can support 64 candidates, in case of more candidates paper ballot is used. EVMs are now exported to over 30 countries world-wide in Africa, Asia & Latin America.

ICT usage in Elections ICT usage mainly started in 2004 general elections. The ruling party BJP allotted 5% of the budget to new media projecting ‘India Shining campaign’. Focusing on Urban literate voters 20 million urban telephone users and 20 million internet users sms, pre-recorded voice clips etc. Other parties didn’t follow too much. Eventually BJP lost the election to Congress. It is widely believed ‘India Shining’ campaign lead to its defeat. However, this campaign setup the pattern for the campaign budget allocation to 40%-50% print, 20% outdoors, 15% TV, 5%-10% new media.

ICT usage in Elections Mobile using population increased from 26 million to 400 million. Internet using population from 16 million to 80 million. 65% of the entire population younger than 35. Most of the top politicians have facebook, twitter, blogs accounts. Examples of use of New Media for BJP in 2009: 3-4 billion sms send to 260 million cell phone users. 200,000 keywords run using Google adwords in over 50,000 websites. The campaign appeared in over 1 billion searches every month. Use of GIS tracking system to track polling booth movements during the election day. Despite the BJP lost the elections because rural population vote more than urban population and other factors like caste, religion plays vital role. Interestingly, according to the law the election campaign should stop 48 hours before the voting day. However, election commission is not able to implement this rule on new-media campaigns.

Interesting Cyber notes BJP send legal notice to Congress party for cyber squatting. Major political parties announced IT policy. Unique ID (like Social Security of US) underway. Internet Voting & Sms voting is under discussion. The key challenge is identification of the person casting vote.

Key Leanings (2010) ICT is another form of political / electoral communication. Political affiliations are deeper and lasts generations. The affect of ICT on electoral politics is fully not determined, however, it can't be ignored. New Media is cost effective and has wider reach than traditional media. Hence, it can be used for mass outreach program. New Media should be used for brand building purpose not to build political legacy. New Media sometimes looks a ‘desperate’ attempt to reach out masses (eg: unsolicited s & sms). It should be carefully used along with traditional media & PR vehicles.

Key Leanings (2010) Citizen journalism on the rise. Single issue group taking shape at political level eg: Jaago Re campaign by TATA Tea Lg&feature=related Lg&feature=related ure=related ure=related ure=related ure=related ure=related ure=related

Thank You Questions ?