After the PM, CEC logs in to Twitter

India's chief election commissioner has finally "surrendered" to the Twitter. And CEC SY Quraishi says he has to thank the youth of the country and his son for it.

India's chief election commissioner has finally "surrendered" to the Twitter. And CEC SY Quraishi says he has to thank the youth of the country and his son for it.

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Posting his maiden tweet, Quraishi, the head of the Election Commission, wrote, "At last, I have surrendered to twitter! Thanks to my son @mustafaquraishi and the youth of India for inspiring me."

In opening a Twitter account, Quraishi has followed in the footsteps of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose office now makes it a point to keep the followers posted of all major happenings in the PMO.

When asked on the reasons behind his opening an account on the social media site, Quraishi told PTI, "It is part of our efforts to reach out to voters and create awareness about voter education."

He said, "We need to reach out to voters of all ages and classes. Social media is the latest media. This was earlier left out. We feel that gap we have tried to fill up now."

Quraishi said that "We feel voter education is of paramount importance to make elections successful and meaningful."

Soon after posting his messages from his account DrSYQuraishi@twitter.com, the CEC today replied to a tweet, "Thanks for the welcome! I am convinced in the power of this medium now!" and "Thank you! That is my main purpose...to connect with the youth!".

Quraishi has already started answering election-related queries of those following him on the social networking site.

It, however, remains to be seen whether Quraishi uses Twitter for plain personal messaging or also posts comments on significant issues concerning the election conduct and processes involved in free and fair electioneering, besides on contentious issues like election reforms.