A great deal has been written and said about the role of social media in the ongoing elections, and with good reason. It represents a new high profile, high-decibel arena for political competition — one that allows for a true dialogue, not simply monologues by the political elite. But social networking sites are just one intersection point of electoral politics and the internet. To focus solely on them is to miss the forest for the trees. In a larger context, the rapid growth in internet penetration means a more informed electorate — and that in turn means a greater level of scrutiny and accountability for political parties. Given the pattern of internet use in the country with mobile devices claiming the lion’s share and the upcoming explosion in smartphone sales, it’s a safe bet this is going to play out in part via apps — something that can already be seen this year.

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The variety of  free election-related apps currently available is intriguing. From the Election Commission (EC) to the BJP, from engineering students to media companies, there are a number of players in the market. A number of their apps serve as information repositories — something that is sorely needed given the misleading and often vitiated nature of political rhetoric and the impossibility of media providing all the relevant information. Thus, users can access lists of constituencies and candidates, candidates’ histories, their political records, criminal records if any and so on. But it doesn’t stop there. There are apps for everything from making voting easier — the EC’s app can help individuals register as voters and locate the nearest polling both — to tracking election trends across the country in real time. Most interestingly, perhaps, there is an app that allows users to upload photos and videos recording corrupt practices by candidates — information that is then passed on to the EC.

Democratisation of politics has become something of a clichéd phrase, but it holds fully true here — and in many ways, it is unprecedented. Mobile technology growth has been exponential over the past few years. At the time of the last general elections in 2009, smartphones were still a relatively new concept. Their rapid maturing has, for the first time in India, enabled not just relaying more information seamlessly to the electorate but enabling them to be part of the electoral process in multiple ways.

Granted, the number of smartphone users in the country is still relatively small. But that is set to change rapidly; come the next elections, the scenario is going to be very different. According to the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) and market research firm IMRB, India had crossed the 200 million mark last October as far as internet users go. Mobile internet users — about 110 million people as per the report — are likely to be among the more frequent users given easy access to mobile phones as against computers. And the subset of mobile phone users that is comprised of smartphone users is set to explode. Data provided by research company Mediacells to The Guardian predicts that India will see an incredible 207 million new smartphone users this year;   2014, then, is best seen as a proof of the concept. By the time 2019 rolls in, mobile internet access would have matured a great deal — and that can only strengthen the political process.