Aspirants Take AI Reality Check Before Taking Poll Plunge
Nagpur: Artificial Intelligence (AI) can do a lot many things that can help improve efficiency and productivity on individual or organisational level, but can it predict how an aspirant will fare in an election? That's no longer a question, but something that's already being tried and tested.
In fact, AI is the latest trend in poll strategy with aspirants seeking "advice" about their chances of winning, before throwing their hat in the ring.
Some poll strategy/survey companies are now offering an AI-driven analytics services to prepare a full report on the chances (in percentage) an aspirant has in a particular ward, based on past poll records, political competition, ground surveys and issues which are connecting with people.
An aspirant from North Nagpur, who wanted to check his prospects in the upcoming civic body elections, got such a report from a Mumbai-based company. The aspirant told TOI that it was a cost-effective way to get a reality check. "It's like a marriage kundli-matching report," he laughed while explaining the concept. "For less than Rs 3 lakh I get this report which provides me with a neutral view on what my chances are, regardless of what my supporters say or what I feel.
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This way, I can decide whether or not to spend a lot of money in the entire poll campaign," said the aspirant.
This AI generated testing-the-waters report works out best for poll aspirants who are not career politicians, though the data is crucial for every category of aspirant. Successful businessmen and moneybags who are keen to try their luck in politics still keep the 'economic viability' of their new venture in mind.
This poll aspirant got TOI in touch with two others who also got the report made, and said "it helps a lot".
One of them said, "The report is very detailed and we got it in Marathi only. A team came down here and did the survey and two weeks later I got the report. The chart showed us which issues are important in the ward and which party is the preferred one. Then there was an advice on what issues I will have to focus on for victory.
But my report gave a low chance of me winning, so I am thinking whether or not to contest."
Through these poll aspirants, TOI got in touch with the company in Mumbai, which prepared the reports. Speaking on behalf of the company, Chaitanya Wadekar said even before internet came, surveys were being done. "What has changed now is how the data is collected and most importantly – due to advent of AI – how that data is analyzed and presented," Wadekar said.
Wadekar said, "AI predictive model becomes better as more data pours in. We feed it with our intensive ground intel, combined with old poll results, demographics, issues etc to get a more detailed response. Our digital AI-driven database also identifies local influencers, be it social media stars, activists, lawyers, community leaders, who each can swing a few hundred or even a thousand votes in favour of the candidate.
"
Poll aspirants also get a dedicated online dashboard, in Marathi too, and at the click of the button they can see a comprehensive interactive report. The third poll aspirant TOI spoke with said, "Everyone enters polls to win, nobody says I am here to lose unless you have an agenda to cut votes. And at the civic body level, candidates have to mostly put up their own funds. So, the more accurate information you can get, the better.
"
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