The widespread disenchantment and apathy among urban voters, the lack of information regarding candidates’ antecedents and the role of the 3 M’s (Money, Muscle and Mafia power) are the main impediments identified by PAC in the electoral system. To overcome these challenges, PAC launched a nationwide campaign during the 14th lok sabha elections in 2004. The objective of the nationwide voter awareness campaign was to enhance voters’ participation and to motivate them to make informed choices in elections.

Partner:

(1) TV channels (Sony, SET Max, HBO, AXN, Zee, Discovery, Star India, Aaj Tak, MTV, ETV and Star Vijay) aired promotions prepared by PAC.

(2)Websites (MSN India and Indiatimes) displayed promotions and voter motivaton messages.

(3)Brand-Comm, a communications consulting company headquartered in Bangalore, coordinated and supported the entire campaign.

(4)Radio (Radio City 91 FM in Bangalore and Radio Mirchi in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune) urged listeners to vote.

(5) Several corporate groups, such as CII and NASSCOM, sent mass mails through their corporate networks.

(6) Resident welfare groups in Bangalore and district-level civil society groups supported the campaign.

About the Campaign:

The campaign had two main components:

1. A national multi-media voter awareness and motivation campaign urging voters to simply “go out and vote” during the lok sabha and vidhana sabha elections.

• The theme of the campaign, “Vote Today, Don't Curse Tomorrow”, was used by the media as a motivating slogan for voters to cast their votes.

• A nationwide media campaign was launched and a series of promotions featuring celebrities were aired on national and regional television channels such as Sony, SET Max, HBO, AXN and Zee as well as regional TV channels. PAC also partnered with Radio City 91 FM in Bangalore and Radio Mirchi in seven major cities in India, airing programmes with "Vote Today, Don't Curse tomorrow" acting as the main message to voters.

• National icons like cricketer Rahul Dravid, cine-star Mr. Aamir Khan and Kannada film star Ramesh Aravind endorsed and participated in the campaign, being featured in TV and radio promos, as well as other publicity material.

• Advertisements, editorials and opinion polls were utilised through frequently visited websites such as MSN India (msn.co.in) and Indiatimes (indiatimes.com).

• Posters and hoardings were displayed at vantage points.

2. Information on candidates’ antecedents was disseminated to voters in lok sabha constituencies in Karnataka. PAC strived to promote informed choices among the citizens vis-à-vis the election of candidates. This initiative gained greater significance in the context of the landmark Supreme Court verdict on mandatory disclosure of candidates’ antecedents in March 2003. PAC partnered with 18 resident welfare associations and civil society groups to disseminate information leading up to the vidhana sabha constituency elections in and around Bangalore.

Impact:

• The collective efforts of various groups have resulted in the extremely visible success of the voter motivation and awareness campaign. Both national and regional television programmes aired the promotions five to eight times per day. Radio Mirchi promotions, as well as MSN India and Indiatimes advertisements, editorials, banners and opinion polls made the campaign a success.

• PAC had developed a microsite on its website with the help of Mahiti (an organisation helping NGOs with information technology in Bangalore), complete with details of antecedents of candidates from Bangalore standing for election, information on how, when and where to vote, how to use electronic voting machines, what to do if someone casts his or her vote in your name, etc. The MSN and Indiatimes websites displayed links to the PAC microsite. The run up to the elections witnessed a three-fold increase in visits to the PAC website.

• Mass e-mailing through corporate networks reached more than 3,500 companies.

• Endorsements from popular icons lent further credibility to the campaign.

• PAC was successful in bringing together a large number of groups across the state in the endeavour for free and fair elections. These civic groups were mostly working on specific issues such as HIV/AIDS, women’s empowerment, micro-credit, disabilities, etc. This was probably the first time that many of them had expanded their ambit of work and participated in governance reforms. The campaign was an ideal platform to impart training, and it also served as a good capacity building exercise for PAC.