After presidential elections in US, Obama’s campaign through internet and interactive media have contributed a lot and led Obama with a victory, the Information Technology helped him to win not only in gaining votes, also in managing his party volunteers, funds and accepting donations, donation requests, campaign e.mails, campaign SMS & statistical surveys that helped and decided the victory of Obama.
In case of our country India, Lokh Sabha 2009 election witnessed a same strategy by Indian Political parties, especially the ruling and opposition parties at national level with massive advertising campaign through internet, especially banners, blogs, contestant websites and internet friends, Political parties have taken up the information technology, the IT as an essential tool to Win elections, additionally fans have got energized to show up their IT skill, IT cell’s have gloomed almost to all political parties.
But after the results were announced the picture was very clear, IT and IT supporters had no role in deciding the victory, or have no clues that contributed major change in the mindset of voters, moreover major focus on Information Technology diverted the political parties concentration from actual problems, those persisted within parties, as well the basic ideologies and manifesto’s the parties have started for. The current generation politics requires Minority Politics, Caste Politics, Permutations, Combinations, Free offers , Alcohol, a Pack of Biriyani, possible one or two latest denomination currency notes.
Ultimately political parties have failed to realize that most of the voters who do their duty by voting are illiterate and they don’t know what the IT communities and groups, and logistically neither they have a mobile to receive SMS campaign’s or a computer to receive a e-mail Campaign, other side most educated keep watching the TV’s sitting remotely and trying to see any video’s are uploaded at you tube or face book.
Largely, Indian political parties should realize that the Major percentages of votes that register are from the rural population, who normally dont know what is Information Technology, unlike US; the major population has access to computer, additionally the loyal party workers who work the campaign and election field are not from IT, though countable/exceptional volunteers.
Yes, Information Technology is mandatory to decorate the election campaign, administration, maintaining party hierarchy records, membership enrolment & statistical records of each constituency, essentially the parties should keep in mind that they can never change the attitude of voters, unless free schemes are announced, voters are favored, last but not least; on any situation pertain/strict to the manifesto’s based on the party ideologies.
Current Lok Sabha seat permutations and combinations, source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lok_Sabha
Image Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Indische_Parlamentswahlen_2009-Koalitionen.png