In an attempt to woo young voters and to make its electoral campaigning more interactive, the Communist Party of India (CPI) in Kerala had recently launched an app for each of its candidates contesting in the upcoming assembly elections due to be held on May 16.
Just days after the launch, the app has registered good traffic especially in constituencies like Thrissur, Harippad and Pattambi where young CPI candidates are in the electoral fray.
The app can be downloaded from Play Store for Android phones e.g. If one wants to download the app for the Pattambi constituency, from where CPI candidate Muhammed Muhsin is being fielded, one has to search for ‘Ente Pattambi’ on Play Store.
Once installed, the app provides a platform for voters to interact with the CPI candidate, click selfies with them and provide the requisite information about the candidate.
Why an app and whose idea was it?
Speaking to The News Minute, Hari Sasi -Managing Director of Dhyuthi Innovations which developed the app- says, “The app is a result of a combined effort from our side and some of the young CPI leaders. The party is trying to reach out to the youth and wanted to adopt a more interactive mode of campaign. Many a time, what happens is that the voters do not get to converse with their candidates. This app will serve as a good communication platform for such an interaction. They will also get a chance to speak about on-ground issues which need not always be reported by the mainstream media.”
Hari further goes on to explain the various features of the app: “We have uploaded a basic bio-data for each candidate that would help voters to know more about their candidate’s educational and political background. Another option allows the voter to listen to the various poll speeches made by the candidate. The most interesting feature is the selfie option wherein the voters can click selfies with the candidate and the app generates an automated poster which can be later shared on social media platforms.”
Talking about the app, V S Sunil Kumar -CPI candidate from Thrissur- says, “One of our challenges was to reach out to young voters and there is no better way to do it than through the new media. I have been receiving a lot of comments and messages through the app since it was launched. Even though I am busy campaigning on ground, I make sure I respond to all comments whenever possible either while travelling or at the end of the day. There are naturally both positive and negative comments. While most people register their support, a few raise questions which I answer accordingly.”
The app-developers have -as of now- no plans to make it available on other operating systems such as iOS or Windows. If however the CPI candidates win in their respective constituencies, they do plan to expand the application by adding more features to enable the MLA to function effectively by taking into consideration the views and needs of the people he or she represents.
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