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In the ongoing general elections 2019 in India, technology has made it easier for political parties to gauge the mood of the voters and put their best message forward. Political parties are leveraging big data analytics to gather insights into voter preferences based on their socio-economic status, caste, local issues, and various other parameters. Based on the voter sentiment and segments, customized election campaigns with the most relevant messages and videos are being created and pitched to the specific target groups. Once the campaign is launched, data is gathered to analyze its effectiveness and tweak it further according to the response it generates.
Creating Trending Narratives
Social media and WhatsApp have emerged as key influencers and political parties are making good use of these tools to reach out to the voters. Informal conversations between online users are enabling parties to pick up positive narratives and convert them into trending stories. The IT cells also monitor negative narratives and push counter stories in a bid to minimize the harm these negative sentiments can cause. Online browsing patterns of users are being tracked to pitch relevant political messages that are further fine-tuned according to the user engagement with these pitches. Depending on the uptake of the messages at a particular location, political parties are also creating narratives for location-specific rallies and the key messages they must deliver.
Deciding Candidature
Not just the campaign, but poll strategy and fielding candidates have also become scientific with big data guiding the parties here as well. Analysis of data from numerous apps—that provide insights into voter perception of the MPs and MLAs, and review of their work—gives an insight into the popularity (or otherwise) of a candidate, enabling parties to make informed decisions about the best candidate for a constituency.
Technology is But an Enabler
Political parties that can leverage technology to the hilt can reach out better to the voters. That said, technology is just an enabler. Can it convert the messaging into votes? The results will provide the answer.