Former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee launches Neta App

Former President, Shri. Pranab Mukherjee today launched Neta App, a first of its kind technology platform that enables voters to rate their political representatives, at his official residence in the capital. Neta App aims at fostering political accountability by being an early indicator of how a leader’s performance is being perceived by the voters. Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Former Election Commissioners, Mr. S.Y. Quraishi, Mr. Nasim Zaidi, Shri Ashwini Kumar (Former Law Minister of India), Shri Murli Manohar Joshi (MP and Former HRD Minister), Shri Shivraj Patil (Former Home Minister of India), Shri Vijay Sampla (Minister of State of Social Justice and Empowerment) were also present at the launch.

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 in the country. Neta also provides new leaders with an opportunity to showcase their popularity and catch the attention of political parties. Incumbent party candidates will now get a run for their money as anyone who is interested in fighting an election can get featured on the app by gathering a 1000 votes from their constituency. If they have a good connect with the voters and are receiving a good vote share, there is a possibility that political parties may approach them for a ticket, as they can see the evolving public opinion on the app.

While addressing the audience at the launch, Former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee said, “I congratulate the team behind Neta, that their app has done so well to educate the voters, track performance via transparent ratings and help parties select candidates with a good track record. To me, this platform is nothing short of groundbreaking and it will take our democracy a notch higher.”

Shri Arvind Kejriwal, Chief Minister of Delhi said, “In a democracy like ours there are so many people who are not able to meet their representatives due to the size and scale involved. In such an atmosphere, Neta 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.”

Over 1.5 crore verified voters have already rated or reviewed their local leaders across all 543 parliamentary constituencies and 4120 assembly constituencies in the country on the app, within eight months. The app is available on Android, iOS and web in 16 languages keeping in mind the diverse user profile. In order to ensure participation across demographics, including the rural heartlands, Neta app uses multiple mediums like the app, IVR calls, SMS and even offline activations with the help of Aashawadi and Aanganwadi workers, to gather data on the evolving political inclinations.

According to Pratham Mittal, Founder, Neta App, “We are extremely thankful to Shri Pranab Mukherjee for supporting the initiative. There couldn’t have been a better person and platform to launch the app. 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.”

Former Chief Election Commissioner, Mr. S.Y. Quraishi said “It is good to see young minds taking such initiatives aimed at promoting good governance and citizen engagement. This platform is creating dialogue, enhancing accountability, and getting more people to think about their political representatives seriously, empowering our democracy.”

Mr. Nasim Zaidi, Former Chief Election Commissioner said, “I believe technology can truly shape the new era of democracy. Happy to see how Neta’s team is using technology to change the way we engage with politics in India. Advances like Neta App hold the key to a successful democracy in this age of smartphones.”