Under the umbrella of Maharashtra State Election Commission, the Mahavoter project spearheaded by Litmus Test Project (LTP) is an innovative collaboration between Operation Black Dot, Facebook, Twitter, Gupshup, KraftPixel, Phantom Films, AIB, Cordiform, IMPED, Mindstorm, Teen Bandar, Yellow Umbrella, Mumbai University and other partners. Its main objective was to improve voter awareness and improve voters turnout for the local body Elections in 2017.
We spread the message of why and how to vote via a website, chatbot, social media and on ground activities. We reached millions of young citizens on facebook, twitter and on ground. The Voting percentage increased by 12% in Mumbai because of the campaign. There was increase in voter turnout throughout the state.
We plan to continue this work. Stay tuned for updates from the Litmus Test Project – the team behind the Mahavoter Campaign.
n a democracy, the government is supposed to be a reflection of the people’s choices. It is the responsibility of a citizen to not only vote wisely but also to be aware and engaged with the state’s actions and policies in order to ensure electoral promises are met and the nation progresses inclusively. Around 50% of India’s population is under 25, making the youth vote a formidable force in enabling good governance and preventing any entity or decision that could hamper India’s story.
Sadly, 2/3rd of educated Young Indians living in urban cities still don’t cast their vote and consciously stay away from the subject of politics due to its general perception of being ‘boring’, ‘complicated’ and ‘dirty’. Well, it’s only dirty because most good people refuse to help clean it up! We break down political discourse into easy-to-understand formats and settings. What the heck is policy paralysis? Why the big fuss about Left, Right and Centre? We explain everything that you need to know about India’s political machinery so that you can exercise your right to question, oppose and support in an informed manner. We want to send a wake up call to Young India: The kind which is wired into Facebook every minute, binge watches House of Cards, parties every Saturday, studies hard for entrance exams, complains about everything around—but does not vote or even know who their M.P/M.L.A is!
And no, we aren’t yet another website or a blog – Mahavoter is a movement to bring about a change of mindset, where we, along with the rest of Young India use all forms of engagement platforms to help achieve our objective.
Remember – politicians will only take you seriously and think twice before doing anything wrong if you let them know that you are watching – constantly and keenly! At the end of the day, we hope to enable young Mumbaikars to cast informed ballots in the BMC elections.
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