3 Ways How Online News Played a Vital Part in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections
With the recently concluded 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, there is a lot of anticipation in the air with regards to the election results. Which party will win? How many seats will the party get? The questions are numerous, but the answer to them shall only be told with time. But till then, let us have a glance through the massive exercise of people management and coordination to execute voting in the world’s largest democracy smoothly. More importantly, it feels like the right time to look at some of the commendable aspects seen during the elections – the impact of online news.
In the hectic grind of our daily lives, it can be really difficult to keep track of our personal interests, let alone the complexities of the Indian political scenario and elections. However, the power of the internet was at its peak in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. Any information we sought was available on the internet. It became a platform where news agencies grabbed people’s attention with real-time updates like never before. Also, online news portals had the opportunity to share focussed and informative articles that informed the voters and broadened their perspective. To delve into these aspects in detail, here are some of the ways in online news played a vital part in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections.
Informed voters
In the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, there were about 15 million first-time voters who were going to cast their votes, across constituencies in India. With such large numbers, misinformation can prove to be detrimental to the polling process. But with online news, the platforms were able to focus educational content onto the target population. The entire voting process was explained to the public using simple language and short videos.
Bringing key developments to light
A lot of novel measures were undertaken during the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. However, the success of the measures lay in people possessing knowledge of the same. Online news came about as a viable information bridge between the common populace and measures taken by the Election Commission.
For example, online news platforms shared detailed information about contesting politicians in almost every constituency of India. This helped the voters get a clearer picture into their candidate’s past and make the right judgement. Another aspect to be considered commendable is the coverage of novel schemes and measures such as the VVPAT machine, women’s only polling booths, etc.
Tailor-made news for people on-the-go
A good part of the day is spent in travelling for Indians today. Hence, to ensure that people were kept informed about the latest updates, online news platforms had to level up their efforts. Making the best of the situation, online news platforms like ZEE5 came up with short videos that briefly addressed the crux of important news updates in a jiffy. Also, there was also the option of accessing Live TV for those who are regular viewers of certain news shows. Either way, people now had the option to keep themselves updated, irrespective of where they are.
So, as we look back at the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, let us commend the efforts taken by news platforms in this period. On that note, let us know – what is your opinion on the role of online news this election season? Do share your views in the comments. We shall be looking forward to hearing them.
