Election Commission ranks Telangana second in utilizing social media for elections

The ECI's SVEEP initiative is also utilized to address a range of issues, including voter registration, corrections, and modifications for existing electors.

Hyderabad: Telangana has been ranked second for social media engagement during elections, following Jharkhand, which holds the top position, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Telangana announced on Thursday, January 2. The state's effective use of social media forms a key part of the Systematic Voter Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) program, which is employed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to measure such engagement.

With over 300,000 subscribers on the CEO-Telangana's social media channels, the platform serves as a crucial tool for providing timely communication, engaging with voters, and gathering feedback. The Telangana CEO's office emphasized the importance of social media in modern-day election communication. The state also reported a 3% increase in voter turnout in the 2024 Parliament elections, rising from 62.77% in 2019 to 66.3%.

The ECI’s media division offers technical support to ensure that social media is effectively used across states and union territories for information dissemination, voter transparency, and myth-busting. The SVEEP initiative also addresses key issues such as voter registration, corrections to electoral records, and marking persons with disabilities, while ensuring the inclusivity of marginalized groups such as the Third Gender, tribals, particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG), senior citizens, and Persons with Disabilities (PwD).

In the 2024 Parliament elections in Telangana, the ruling Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) each won eight seats, while the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen retained the Hyderabad Lok Sabha constituency. The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), the main opposition party, failed to secure any seats.