SOCIAL MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA’S 2014 NATIONAL PRIME MINISTER POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

By Monica Hoque

NATIONAL PRIME MINISTER ELECTIONS START-OFF AT THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK OF APRIL 2014 Social media has became a pivotal platform

for all campaigns Having an official YouTube channel or an

active Facebook page is now as important as holding mass rallies and plastering candidates' faces on billboards

WHO IS HELPING THE CANDIDATES? Google, Facebook and Social Somosa are

helping all political parties with their online strategy by organizing weekly hangouts with politicians.

Google India has also developed a dedicated election hub, and a "Pledge to Vote" interactive map.

WHO IS BEING TARGETED? There are more than 200 million Internet

users in India. Most of them are young and mobile urban

dwellers. India makes up for the highest usage, outside

of the United States on social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook because this demographic is very socially engaged.

WHO ARE THE MAIN COMPETITORS? Rahul Gandhi – Representing the National

Congress Party Current Vice President of the NCP Chairperson of the Indian Youth Congress Chairperson of the Union if India

Current Social Profile Facebook: 355,000 likes Twitter: N/A Google+: N/A Youtube Channel: N/A

WHO ARE THE MAIN COMPETITORS? Narendra Modi – Representing the Bharatiya

Janata Party Current Chief Minister of Indian state Gujarat BJP is the second largest political party in India Currently the popular candidate amongst young

people demographic.Current Social Profile Facebook: Over 13 million likes Twitter: Over 3.7 million followers Google+: Over 77 million viewers Youtube Channel: Over 300,000 viewers

WHY IS MODI DOING SO WELL?

His campaign team heavily studied President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaign style

Used the influential “Yes We Can” term from the Obama campaign

Modi continues to be relatable to many Indians by creating several Twitter accounts in specific languages such as Telugu, Malayalam, and Marathi

HOW DOES THIS ELECTION LOOK LIKE?Everyone will be issued an identification card with an original picture and matched on the national roster to have a vote

Once the vote is in, you get a paint mark on your nail

WH

Y IS THIS YEAR SO

SPECIAL?

India has a population on 1.2 billion and this year, about 100 million Indian are projected to vote in 2014.

This year’s election will be the second most expensive campaign in the entire world.

Every main candidate will be spend around 300 billion rupees on their own campaign which equivalent to 5 billion dollars.

NEW TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS MORE COST EFFICIENTElectronic Voting Machines

Will operate using the voter’s own fingerprintUsed to prevent rigging and tampering with the ballots.Only can be counted by specific appointed officials