Elections 2014: apps, Google help out voters

Google and several other websites and apps are npw helping voters making an informed decision this 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

While two phases of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections are over, there are still seven to go.

To make sure that voters make informed choices at the time of casting their vote, websites and social media platforms have actively been dispensing information on those standing for the elections across all the 543 seats in the country. And now, Google, too, has launched a tool that helps voters read up on candidates from these several constituencies.

Available on google.co.in/elections, the tool called Know Your Candidate allows netizens to access info about contestants from their areas and their incumbent Members of Parliament (MP) as well. Details about their education, financial situation and social media presence will also be available here.

The information will be put up a week prior to the constituency going to the polls. Mapped onto a Google Maps interface, citizens can find relevant information by using pin codes of their areas or by zooming in on their localities on the map.

That apart, there has also been a sudden surge in the number of free apps dispensing similar data. So an app called Lok Sabha Elections lists details about national and major regional parties. It also provides information on the seat-wise polling schedule, and will have live results on May 16. On the app titled Lok Sabha Elections 2014, users can learn more about the candidates.

Similar information is also available on apps like Lok Sabha India Elections 2014 and India Election 2014 Candidates. And on Your MP (Lok Sabha MP’s), voters can read up about their incumbent candidate, see how many questions they’ve asked in the Parliament and how many debates they’ve participated in.