Lokatantra Heralds The Age Of Digital Democracy

Jayantrao Patil and Tannisha Avarrsekar at the launch of Lokatantra.in

 

So you feel like it’s an arduous task to get yourself registered in the voter roll? To find out which constituency you belong to? Or which candidates you can and should vote for? Well, not anymore..Welcome to Lokatantra, a digital platform available in the App Store and Play Store that connects leaders and citizens, and answers all your voting related how, when, where and who questions. With no affiliations to any party, person or ideology, Lokatantra brings you honest and unbiased information to help you make the most of your right to vote.

This one-stop solution to cater to every Mumbaikars' voting needs this election season, is the brainchild of Tannisha Avarrsekar, an elected Associate of King’s College London with a degree in English and Politics. The platform streamlines the communication process between the governed and their governors by creating an interactive platform where both can learn more about each other. Users can avail a range of services such as a factchecker, interviews and the ability to both rate and ask any candidate a question.

Lokatantra empowers the voters of India- the world’s largest democracy, with extensive and detailed information about their candidates and the voting process, verifies its authenticity and then organises it in a manner which makes it quick and easy to understand. On the flip side, it also collects data on citizens’ opinions on key issues through polls and surveys, and then analyses and publishes the results, to aid in the decision-making process of leaders.

The USP of the platform is a quiz that asks users 25-30 questions, regarding their opinions on political, social and economic topics that affect voting behaviour, and allows them to rate the importance of each issue to them. Based on their answers, an algorithm matches them to the candidates from their constituency whose opinions are most similar to theirs. The same questions are asked to announced candidates, and their answers captured in a video interview, to maintain the transparency and integrity of the process.

“I wanted to create a platform where voters could tell their leaders what they want accomplished, as well as one where the existing accomplishments of politicians, especially independents and young newcomers could be recognised.” says Tannisha Avarrsekar, CEO & Editor-in-Chief of Lokatantra.

Suryadeep Malhotra, Head of Marketing at Lokatantra adds “To begin with we will be launching Lokatantra only for Mumbai and its 6 constituencies – Mumbai South, Mumbai South Central, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai North, Mumbai North East and Mumbai North West. But we are aiming to roll out our services for all of Maharashtra before the upcoming Vidhan Sabha election.”

Why the need for Lokatantra? “The number of registered voters in the age bracket of 18-25 years in Mumbai city is 5,93,105 only. That is a staggering low, considering the actual number of citizens in that age bracket. The only way we can hold our leaders accountable, is if we are accountable for our own votes. This is a youth initiative to make Mumbaikars more aware and engaged as citizens,” avers Avarrsekar.

Present were politicos and youth leaders of the likes of Jayantrao Patil, Prasad Lad, Satyajeet Tambe Patil, Mohit Bharatiya among others, who lauded Tannisha Avarrsekar and her team’s initiative.

More power to Lokatantra, that heralds the arrival of youth empowerment through digital democracy.