Study ranks Mallika Sarabhai’s website the best

The study on the websites of political parties conducted by the Mudra Institute of Communication Research (Micore) revealed that the site of independent candidate from Gandhinagar, Mallika Sarabhai was one of the best in terms of effectiveness, during the Lok Sabha election.

While the websites of LK Advani and Mallika Sarabhai were the most frequently updated, Sarabhai’s went a step further by raising funds, maintaining transparency and educating the voters about their constituencies. Her website was also very interactive.
Besides providing information on the candidates, the other websites did little to exploit the power of the internet.

Sarabhai used her website to invite supporters to work as volunteers and urged people to contribute funds for her election campaign.

“Sarabhai’s website was among the few Indian websites that tried to raise funds through appeals. As mentioned on her site, the amount she had raised was Rs21,44,425 two days before polling,” said Rahul Gadekar, research associate, Micore. “She also maintained transparency by publishing a list of donors and the respective amounts.”

Expect for her, no other candidate in the state tried to educate voters about the details of their constituency profiles. “Even after losing the election, she updated her message on what she feels and her plans ahead,” said Kiran Thakur, head of the media research department of Micore.