With the election season getting closer, a board game called “The Poll”, designed by journalist Abeer Kapoor, was launched here on Wednesday.
While participants need to aim at winning the maximum number of constituencies, Mr. Kapoor states that the board game will help in “demystify” the Indian elections, understand polling strategies and voters training, apart from helping participants engage in healthy debates surrounding the elections.
The board game, which was launched by former Chief Election Commissioner Naveen Chawla; Harish Khare, the former media adviser to the Prime Minister; and journalist Saba Naqvi, also has a Hindi version.
Participants are required to strategise using the “campaign strategy” cards, which cover various means including “booth capturing,” “human rights violation,” “corruption allegation,” “hate speech” and “celebrity catches.” Among the other campaign strategies, one is the “WhatsApp uncle” which can be used to spread fake news. Speaking about the increasing “danger” of fake news, Mr. Chawla said, “The biggest danger now is fake news, which has replaced what was earlier called ‘paid news’”
During the panel discussion, in response to a question pertaining to the possibility of adopting a system where voters can cast their votes directly through their mobile phones, Mr. Chawla said, “While the current EVMs cannot be rigged, the moment it is connected to computers, the viability will be lost. One will need tough firewalls to prevent hacking and at the moment nothing of that kind has been developed.”
However, while dismissing the idea, Mr. Khare said, “The election is the most participating event here. This board game will help appreciate the nobility of elections.”
Meanwhile, responding to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s new role, Mr. Khare said, “It is surely a momentous day for the family, I am not sure if its for the Indian democracy. Her only qualification is her last name before marriage.”
The board game has been developed with NGO SMART and funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.
