IT plays a major role in Gujarat elections

v
r gng 2 win with gr8 mrgn. Pls vote 4 us". These types of unsolicited
messages irritate a majority of youth and elders alike. These messages are being
sms'ed by political parties in Gujarat in the ensuing elections on December 12.
This is perhaps the first election, after the Information Technology era, where
parties decided to field canvassing campaigners as per the computer generated
results of each area.

For
instance, a highly sophisticated Arun Jaitley or SM Krishna would not be
canvassing in rural and tribal areas where as people like Laloo Prasad Yadav
would mainly visit these areas. This strategy of selecting campaigners is being
done through voter database, which differentiates between castes, genders,
religion and regional identity.

"We
have to be different from the previous elections. It is the information
technology devices that help us in this strategy," Tom Vadakkan, media cell
in-charge, AICC, told CNS.

The
BJP central office in Ahmedabad gives the look of a high profile infotech
company. With a large number of desktops to help the journalists on deciding
constituency and candidate profile, there are laptops, which give you
information on the go.

The
data of each constituency is fed into the system. Then the information of each
candidate and each campaigner is also fed. Random selection is done to decide
which campaigner canvasses where and depending upon the distance of each meeting
and the capacity to address the number of meetings, each day's strategy is
drawn.

New
media consultants have come to the scene with strategies like this to woo not
the voters, but the parties. With a large database of journalists, they use the
mass mailing system to inform the journalists about the day's events. This data
is again fed into the system to generate results where transportation can be
minimized by having two or more scribes in one tour.

The
firebrand speeches are recorded and then multimedia presentations are made to
exhibit in those places where the high profile leaders could not visit. But the
BJP, which also has set up the largest IP-based network in Asia--GSWAN--could
not make optimum use when it was in power, to harness the IT potential in the
state.

Since
a majority of the population and also the employees themselves do not know the
infrastructure Gujarat has in this field, the government in the saddle next year
may also fail to project the state in the path of development and technological
advancement.

Binu
Alex
CNS