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Now an app to help voters rate their political leaders, also provide a ready opinion poll

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6 years ago

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Now an app to help voters rate their political leaders, also provide a ready opinion poll

Seen to be a game changer for psephology and termed a “milestone” by former President Pranab Mukherjee, a young developer has made an app called ‘Neta’ that enables voters to rate their political representatives.

The app, that also provides a ready reference to prevailing political mood and is also a more authentic and broad-based opinion poll – was launched on Friday at the residence of Mukherjee. Others present on the occasion were Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Chief Election Commissioners SY Quraishi and Nasim Zaidi, former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar, former HRD Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, former Home Minister Shivraj Patil, and MoS Social Justice and Empowerment Vijay Sampla.

Speaking at the launch of the app, developed by 27-year-old entrepreneur Pratham Mittal, Mukherjee said, “A good democracy cannot work without informed voters, good leaders and complete transparency and accountability.”

“Feedback from people is of critical importance… It gives an opportunity of empirical evidence of gauging public mood and doing a course correction,” Mukherjee said.

According to the app’s developers, “Neta app aims to create a deep impact on the political engagement in the country. Apart from the obvious ability to let people rate their MLAs and MPs, the app serves as a useful barometer to gauge voter sentiment at any given point of time, across each constituency. Neta also provides new leaders with an opportunity to showcase their popularity and catch the attention of political parties… Anyone interested in fighting an election can get featured on the app by gathering a 1,000 votes from their constituency.”

Praising the app, Kejriwal said it would help people vote beyond “caste and religion”. “In a democracy like ours, there are many people who are unable to meet their representatives due to the size and scale involved. In such an atmosphere, this app will be able to offer voter feedback to representatives on their performance. It will also help parties gauge the performance of their leaders and help them decide which candidates to offer tickets to.”

But both he and Quraishi warned against the app falling prey to political bias. “I have no doubt that this is going to be a game changer in India’s politics. But just one word of caution. You will be tended and cajoled by political leaders to toe their line, and show them in a better light. Please resist the temptation and maintain your neutrality and non-partisanship,” said Quraishi.

The App’s ‘performance’

While the formal launch of the Neta app happened on Friday, it had been running in the beta mode for the last eight months, during which the Karnataka elections were also conducted. It had a strike rate of 92.7 per cent, based on 2.5 million responses, in predicting the Karnataka assembly polls in May, according to Mittal.

He said over 1.5 crore verified voters have already rated or reviewed their local leaders across 543 parliamentary constituencies and 4120 assembly constituencies in the country. It targets to have 100 million users on the platform before 2019 elections.

In order to ensure participation across demographies, including the rural areas, the app uses multiple mediums like IVR calls, SMS and even offline activations with the help of Aashawadi and Aanganwadi workers.

Mittal, who studied at Dehradun’s Doon School and University of Pennsylvania, finds it troubling that the electorate in India votes on caste and religious lines, rather on issues of development.

“The world’s largest democracy deserves a platform where we as voters can rate our politicians and question them. Neta aims to do just that. We are looking to have 100 million users on the platform before 2019 polls,” Mittal, who hails from a business family, said. The family runs the famous Lovely Sweets Shops in Jalandhar, and also the Lovely Professional University, where his Ashok Mittal is chancellor and mother Rashmi pro-chancellor.

On political mood today

If Neta app’s data is any guide, the BJP is poised to lose as many as 70-seats if Lok Sabha elections were to be held now, and that is without factoring a Samajwadi Party-Bahujan Samaj Party alliance in Uttar Pradesh. According to the app, BJP is down to 212-seats from its 2014 tally of 282, while the Congress is up from 44-seats to 110-seats.

“The trend in the last three months shows the Congress gaining, albeit gradually, while BJP losing ground,” Neta app CEO Robbin Sharrma said.

In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, two of the four states going for assembly polls by November-end, the app has surveyed approximately 100 voters in each of the assembly constituencies. According to Sharrma, Congress party’s Ashok Gehlot remains the most popular leader in Rajasthan with 42.3 per cent approval ratings, followed by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje with 33.3 per cent and Congress party’s Sachin Pilot with 20.7 per cent approval ratings.

In Madhya Pradesh, Congress party’s Jyotiraditya Scindia has the highest approval ratings among the state’s leading politicians. If Scindia’s rating is 48.9 per cent, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s is at 42.6 per cent, Congress party’s Kamal Nath at a meagre 6.4 per cent and Digvijaya Singh at an abysmal 2.1 per cent.

About the App

Neta app is available on Android and iOS platforms, and can also be accessed through a website in 16 languages. Mittal says the app tries to factor in the social and economic heterogeneity of India by reaching out to rural areas by using multiple mediums like IVR calls, SMS and offline outreach with the help of Aashawadi and Aanganwadi workers.

Neta app isn’t Mittal’s first venture. In the US, he started Outgrow, a platform that enables polling on websites.

Sharrma, who was earlier with election strategist Prashant Kishor, say the platform uses blockchain to put in place sufficient safeguards to protect data. The team also claims to weed out fake voters by cross verifying registered users with the help of electoral rolls, Aadhaar and apps like Truecaller.

The app will give list of top five contenders for a particular seat and voters can cast their online vote to indicate their preference, or rate the performance of their existing representative. It also claims to offer newcomers an opportunity with anyone interested in fighting an election can get featured on the app by gathering 1,000 votes from their constituency.

The company has no immediate plans to monetise the business.

“We do not have a monetisation plan. Right now, we do not have too many expenses. We just want to build credibility. Monetisation will come down the road,” Mittal told Moneycontrol. “But we will not go to business houses or political parties. We will figure out other ways. For example, we will work with media organisations. If we have this data, may be we can share it with media houses in exchange of a small licensing fee,” he added.

The company has been funded by friends and family and has no plans to raise an institutional round.

 Mittal’s background

Both his parents run the Lovely Professional University. His father, Ashok Mittal, is the  chancellor while mother Rashmi is the pro-chancellor of the university.

Mittal holds a Bachelors degree in engineering and political science from the University of Pennsylvania. Before launching NETA, he founded Outgrow, a growth marketing platform that enables marketers to build interactive content or tools to increase customer engagement and boost demand generation.

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Padma Awards 2025: Full list of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri awardees

The awards recognize outstanding achievements across all fields, with a focus on public service. The recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister.

Published

35 mins ago

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January 26, 2025

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The central government announced the recipients of the prestigious Padma Awards on Saturday. These awards, conferred annually on the eve of Republic Day, represent India’s highest civilian honours. They are presented in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (for distinguished service of a higher order), and Padma Shri (for distinguished service).

The awards recognize outstanding achievements across all fields, with a focus on public service. The recipients are selected by a committee appointed by the Prime Minister.

This year, a total of 199 awards were presented: 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri. The President of India bestows these awards at a formal ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan, typically held in March or April.

List of Padma Award Winners 2024:

Padma Vibhushan:

  • Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy
  • Justice (Retd.) Jagdish Singh Khehar
  • Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia
  • Lakshminarayana Subramaniam
  • MT Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous)
  • Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous)
  • Sharda Sinha (Posthumous)

Padma Bhushan:

  • A Surya Prakash
  • Anant Nag
  • Bibek Debroy (Posthumous)
  • Jatin Goswami
  • Jose Chacko Periappuram
  • Kailash Nath Dikshit
  • Manohar Joshi (Posthumous)
  • Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti
  • Nandamuri Balakrishna
  • PR Sreejesh
  • Pankaj Patel
  • Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous)
  • Rambahadur Rai
  • Sadhvi Ritambhara
  • S Ajith Kumar
  • Shekhar Kapur
  • Shobana Chandrakumar
  • Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous)
  • Vinod Dham

Padma Shri:

  • Advaita Charan Gadanayak
  • Achyut Ramchandra Palav
  • Ajay V Bhatt
  • Anil Kumar Boro
  • Arijit Singh
  • Arundhati Bhattacharya
  • Arunoday Saha
  • Arvind Sharma
  • Ashok Kumar Mahapatra
  • Ashok Laxman Saraf
  • Ashutosh Sharma
  • Ashwini Bhide Deshpande
  • Baijnath Maharaj
  • Barry Godfray John
  • Begam Batool
  • Bharat Gupt
  • Bheru Singh Chouhan
  • Bhim Singh Bhavesh
  • Bhimawa Doddabalappa Shiilekyathara
  • Budhendra Kumar Jain
  • C S Vaidyanathan
  • Chaitram Deochand Pawar
  • Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous)
  • Chandrakant Sompura
  • Chetan E Chitnis
  • David R Syiemlieh
  • Durga Charan Ranbir
  • Farooq Ahmad Mir
  • Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid
  • Gita Upadhyay
  • Gokul Chandra Das
  • Guruvayur Dorai
  • Harchandan Singh Bhatty
  • Hariman Sharma
  • Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale
  • Harvinder Singh
  • Hassan Raghu
  • Hemant Kumar
  • Hriday Narayan Dixit
  • Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous)
  • Inivalappil Mani Vijayan
  • Jagadish Joshila
  • Jaspinder Narula
  • Jonas Masetti
  • Joynacharan Bathari
  • Jumde Yomgam Gamlin
  • K. Damodaran
  • K L Krishna
  • K Omanakutty Amma
  • Kishore Kunal (Posthumous)
  • L Hangthing
  • Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer
  • Lalit Kumar Mangotra
  • Lama Lobzang (Posthumous)
  • Libia Lobo Sardesai
  • M D Srinivas
  • Madugula Nagaphani Sarma
  • Mahabir Nayak
  • Mamata Shankar
  • Manda Krishna Madiga
  • Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli
  • Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous)
  • Nagendra Nath Roy
  • Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous)
  • Naren Gurung
  • Neerja Bhatla
  • Nirmala Devi
  • Nitin Nohria
  • Onkar Singh Pahwa
  • P Datchanamoorthy
  • Pandi Ram Mandavi
  • Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai
  • Pawan Goenka
  • Prashanth Prakash
  • Pratibha Satpathy
  • Purisai Kannappa Sambandan
  • R Ashwin
  • R G Chandramogan
  • Radha Bahin Bhatt
  • Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy
  • Ramdarash Mishra
  • Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar
  • Ratan Kumar Parimoo
  • Reba Kanta Mahanta
  • Renthlei Lalrawna
  • Ricky Gyan Kej
  • Sajjan Bhajanka
  • Sally Holkar
  • Sant Ram Deswal
  • Satyapal Singh
  • Seeni Viswanathan
  • Sethuraman Panchanathan
  • Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
  • Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa)
  • Shyam Bihari Agrawal
  • Soniya Nityanand
  • Stephen Knapp
  • Subhash Khetulal Sharma
  • Suresh Harilal Soni
  • Surinder Kumar Vasal
  • Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj)
  • Syed Ainu Hasan
  • Tejendra Narayan Majumdar
  • Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi
  • Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla
  • Vadiraj Raghavendracharya Panchamukhi
  • Vasudeo Kamath
  • Velu Assaan
  • Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar
  • Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj
  • Vijayalakshmi Deshamane
  • Vilas Dangre
  • Vinayak Lohani

Note that “(Posthumous)” indicates the award was given posthumously.

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Republic Day 2025: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat says respect differences, live in harmony

Attempting a task without understanding, he warned, is akin to acting like a “lunatic,” leading to wasted effort and potential problems. This concept extended beyond culinary skills to encompass all aspects of life, highlighting the need for informed action and diligent work ethics.

Published

55 mins ago

on

January 26, 2025

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At the 76th Republic Day celebration in Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Sunday asserted the importance of unity and understanding in a diverse society. His speech, delivered after unfurling the national flag at a local college, extended beyond the celebratory aspects of the day, focusing on the responsibilities inherent in Indian citizenship.

Bhagwat’s central theme revolved around the need for societal cohesion, a concept he presented as crucial for harmonious coexistence. He acknowledged the presence of diversity within India, contrasting the nation’s approach with global conflicts often fueled by similar differences.

He argued that while individual distinctions and specializations should be respected, they should not overshadow the paramount importance of mutual respect and collaborative living. His analogy extended to the familial and community levels; just as a family requires harmony for its well-being, so too does a town and, ultimately, the nation. Internal conflicts, he implied, undermine the collective good.

He further emphasised the critical role of knowledge and dedication in achieving individual and societal success. Bhagwat used the simple act of cooking rice as a powerful metaphor. He explained that simply possessing the ingredients – rice, water, and heat – is insufficient; the knowledge of how to combine them properly is essential for a successful outcome.

Attempting a task without understanding, he warned, is akin to acting like a “lunatic,” leading to wasted effort and potential problems. This concept extended beyond culinary skills to encompass all aspects of life, highlighting the need for informed action and diligent work ethics.

His message extended into the realm of interpersonal relationships, highlighting the importance of faith and dedication. He contrasted the impersonal service received at a hotel with the welcoming hospitality often found in a home.

At a hotel, a simple request for water might be met with indifference or even hostility. However, at home, a similar request is usually met with generosity and warmth. This difference, he explained, lies in the presence of faith and dedication; actions rooted in trust and commitment invariably yield more positive results. Bhagwat concluded by emphasising that such faith and dedication are vital not only for personal fulfilment but also for building strong, harmonious communities and a thriving nation.

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Congress chief Kharge extends Republic Day greetings, slams Modi govt, says secularism being targeted by Goebbelsian propaganda

He claimed that minorities are being systematically targeted, and those advocating for secularism are subjected to what he termed “Goebbelsian propaganda,” a reference to Nazi Germany’s manipulative propaganda techniques. He further asserted that weaker sections of society – Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the poor, and minorities – are treated as second-class citizens.

Published

1 hour ago

on

January 26, 2025

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On India’s 76th Republic Day, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge delivered a message that was as much a celebration of the Constitution’s 75th anniversary as it was a scathing critique of the current political climate.

He began by honouring the architects of the Constitution, mentioning Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, B.R. Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad, and Sarojini Naidu, acknowledging their monumental contribution to shaping India’s republic.

He extended his appreciation to the nation’s armed forces, paramilitary personnel, security forces, scientists, teachers, farmers, and the diverse workforce – including daily wage earners, gig workers, artists, writers, and sportspersons – for their indispensable roles in nation-building and preserving India’s rich cultural tapestry.

However, the celebratory tone was quickly overshadowed by a stark assessment of the nation’s democratic health. Kharge expressed deep concern over what he characterized as a decade-long erosion of democratic principles and institutions. He alleged a deliberate and malicious campaign fueled by religious fundamentalism, designed to fracture Indian society along religious lines.

He claimed that minorities are being systematically targeted, and those advocating for secularism are subjected to what he termed “Goebbelsian propaganda,” a reference to Nazi Germany’s manipulative propaganda techniques. He further asserted that weaker sections of society – Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, the poor, and minorities – are treated as second-class citizens.

The Congress president directly accused the ruling government of political interference in autonomous institutions, asserting that the control over independent bodies is perceived as a mark of power. He claimed that federalism is being systematically undermined, with the rights of opposition-governed states being curtailed.

The functioning of Parliament, he stated, has significantly deteriorated due to what he described as the tyrannical tendencies of the ruling government. Universities and self-governing institutions, he continued, face constant intrusion, and a large segment of the media has been co-opted as a propaganda tool. The suppression of dissent through the targeting of opposition leaders, he argued, has become the government’s primary policy.

The ongoing crisis in Manipur served as a stark illustration of his concerns, with Kharge highlighting the state’s prolonged turmoil and the lack of accountability at the highest levels of power.

He concluded his message with a fervent call to protect the Constitution’s fundamental values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity, emphasizing that these tenets are being systematically undermined by what he called an authoritarian regime.

He urged citizens to be prepared to make sacrifices to defend the Constitution, viewing this as a fitting tribute to their ancestors. His statement ended with the powerful slogan: “Jai Bapu, Jai Bheem, Jai Samvidhaan. Jai Hind.”

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