Bhagwant Mann was Elected AAP CM Candidate through Televoting, Read about the Process

All eyes are on Bhagwant Mann from Aam Aadmi Party who is scripting a fairytale victory in Punjab. However, it seems that voters had already given their mandate two months ago if the televoting results announced by AAP are anything to go by. While announcing their CM candidate, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal had said that Bhagwant Mann had been chosen after he received the highest number of televotes in a drive conducted by the party. AAP’s ‘Janta Chunegi Apna CM’ (people will choose their CM) initiative seems to have worked magic for them on the ground. As part of the drive, a mobile number (7074870748) was launched by the party to elicit people’s opinion. Kejriwal had said that Mann had received 93 percent of votes cast through phone and WhatsApp.

This form of opinion gathering is called televoting. There are various methods to register a televote which can include calling a particular number, sending SMSes, internet texts or even voice messages. Talking to News18, Prashanth Yerrapragada, VP (technology) at Telebu, a communication solutions company, said: “Televoting has been used traditionally during elections in India, but virtual modes of eliciting opinion have seen a rise in demand after the pandemic. This method was popularised by TV shows where the audience is asked to vote for a particular contestant. There are two ways of doing it – you can either release a unique number for every candidate and ask the public to call/send text on the number that favours their candidate, or you can release one IVR number through which voters will be directed to their preferred candidates. Nowadays, social media polls have also become popular, however, calling a particular number still remains the preferred way for voters.”

According to PTI, around 15 lakh people responded to the AAP’s “Janta Chunegi Apna CM” drive, in which the party had asked people to name their choice for its chief ministerial face for the February 14 Punjab Assembly polls. People gave their opinion by recording their voice and sending text or WhatsApp messages as to who should be the party’s chief ministerial candidate.

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