Asoke K. Laha
President & MD,
Interra IT
What is the differentiator of poll 2014 as against the previous ones? That was the theme of a discussion among a group of people from different walks of life. For that matter, their discussions understandably were bereft of inflation, corruption, black money, etc, which would normally engage an acrimonious interview for a newspaper feature, which are vying for the eyeballs and increased readership.
In many ways, the forthcoming elections will be different and using an adjective like differentiator in a singular way may not be appropriate. This is the first time an election is being fought drawing candidates widely from all segments of the population, such as film artists, musicians, IT professionals, academicians, journalists, activists and you name any.
It is observed that the coming polls will be the longest and the largest ever fought in India. But this poll will have a maximum number of voters – 80 crore or so – and as to how many of them are eligible or those who are eligible will exercise their franchise. Of all the set of differentiators marked by the people present, the most interesting observation was about the technology and communication strategy. The use of technology and varied shades of communication were unparalleled in this election. Ranging from 3D screen to internet blitz, poll 2014, when it is completed, will surpass all records on this count. According to him, election 2014 is being fought and the votes are being sought not entirely through the usual mode of issues and promises. Technology is becoming a game-changer redefining the election ecosystem in the country.
Political parties are relying on technology to reach out to their voters, party workers, vendors who help in their campaigns such as logistics managers, web designers who orchestrate their views in the sites, bloggers who help them in expressing their viewers, journalists who follow election trails, etc. Importantly, Gallup polls conducted by agencies are using extensively technology and advanced techniques in sampling to extrapolate the likely results. It is another matter whether such predictions come true at the end of the day. If the predictions go overboard, they will also refer to the limitations of the scientific investigations. Margin of errors, tolerable errors in extrapolation techniques and the like are ready alibis for explaining prediction horrors (errors). But sometimes they underestimate the power of the voters to mislead them by giving wrong feedback. Then again they have the explanation: last-minute swing or the absence of it.
Assuming that on May 16, 2014, the day the votes are counted and the texture of political affiliations are decided, voters decide on an individual, party or group which had spent maximum on technology and internet, to rule for another five years, that will be a defining moment for the political history of India. The subsequent elections will see more parties using technology tools for their electioneering. Parties in power or in opposition will invest more in such technologies for espousing their causes in the days to come. Assuming that India has to have a general election once in five years and the assembly elections are due at varying time frame for states and union territories, we have businesses lined up throughout the year.
I am told that a major political party, which is fighting election now and widely believed to play a significant role in governance, has spent millions of dollars for investing in technology to reach out to the people. A rough estimate puts that there are thousands of IT professionals both in India and the US working round the clock to create virtual platforms for their parties or leaders to project them across the country. Apart from this, several crores of rupees are being spent by the leading political parties on advertisements in print, electronics and social media. Some of them have engaged Indian and foreign agencies to advise them on image building and in evolving appropriate strategies for reaching out to the people. They have to be paid in millions. Such things will add up to quite a tidy sum.
Why Indian elections are fought in such a feverish manner? That should be the subject- matter of study by a political student. Yet, a comparison of how elections are fought in two largest and oldest democracies – the US and India – will be appropriate here. In the US, there is the Presidential form of government where the election process is different.
However, all these points and counterpoints will vanish into thin air once the election 2014 proves that information technology has given a political edge to the party or group that has deployed it in a larger measure. Others will try to follow the trend. What that means: More business to IT entrepreneurs, web designers, internet managers, bloggers, net writers, mobile companies, mobile messaging – and what have you. Here, I am not counting the freebies that have been offered by the political parties once they come into power. I believe that there is still no bar imposed by the Election Commission for extending freebies. For instance, the Tamil Nadu Government had offered colour TVs and PCs free of cost to the voters in the State. The UP Government had offered laptops free to every student. That generates businesses for the IT hardware companies.
Could we assume safely that IT will be the biggest gainer in 2014 and beyond? Yes, there are indications to show that the IT fraternity will stand to gain in the new paradigm of electioneering. For instance, if the elections are held on the same day throughout India and the counting also takes place on the same day, a lot more opportunities will be there in terms of providing sophisticated software for making the polling and counting simultaneous, creating strong linkages among the polling stations in one constituency and connecting it with the central nodal point, for the final national tally. That may be a farfetched idea presently for India on account of the security compulsions. But the Indian democracy is maturing fast. Elections are free from rigging and other malpractices. Sooner or later, we can expect a regime where elections are held on a particular day and results are declared on the same day. It will be a great saver to the exchequer as also a great spinner of business in the IT. Let us wait for that day, which also signals the maturity of the Indian democracy.
