You would certainly “like” this idea and “share” this news with your friends. The Election Commission and the social-media platform Facebook have become “friends” in promoting the #TN100percent campaign, which aims at a 100 per cent polling during the May 16 Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.
One in three voters in the State is believed to be on Facebook. With a total electorate of 5.79 crore, that is a considerable number.
They will all get a reminder on the social networking site on the polling day and the day before.
The State’s Chief Electoral Officer, Rajesh Lakhoni, and Ankhi Das, director, public policy, India, South and Central Asia, Facebook, announced their collaboration on Monday.
“On May 15 and 16, all Facebook users in Tamil Nadu will see a message, which is essentially a reminder asking them to go and vote the following day. In addition to that, it would lead to the Election Commission’s site, where there will be more information on the location of polling booths,” Ms. Das told presspersons here.
Mr. Lakhoni said 31 per cent of the voters in the State were on Facebook. “Thirty-one per cent is a huge number and reaching out to them and reminding them about the elections with a single partnership will definitely go a long way,” he said.
This is the first time that such an arrangement is being made between the Election Commission and a social networking site. But the trend may soon catch on in other States too.
Ms. Das said Facebook was trying to do the same thing in Puducherry and was in talks with Kerala, both of which go to the polls on the same day as Tamil Nadu.
The Election Commission is also collaborating with Twitter to promote its #TN100percent campaign.
