Can Facebook Influence the 2014 General Elections?

In a research conducted by IRIS Knowledge Foundation and IAMAI (Internet and Mobile Association of India), it has been reported that more than 160 Lok Sabha seats can be influenced heavily by Facebook.

The inference has been derived on the basis of the fact that in these seats, the number of Facebook users is higher than the victory margin of the candidate during the last election.

In 160 election constituencies, the impact of Facebook users is rated as high because they comprise more than 10% of the total voting population. While we have 67 constituencies where Facebook's impact could be moderate as they comprise over 5% of voters.

If I am a political party, I would definitely be licking lips while looking at this data. Especially if I am BJP. Because out of the total 206 won by Congress, 75 of them are 'high-impact' constituencies. All I need to do is to reach out to them using meaningful conversations and try to position myself as the best bet using great content.

Of course a huge deal also depends on the nationwide scenario but it's high time political parties embraced the potential of social media instead of running away from it.

Do you think as a Facebook user, your vote can be influenced by a party's content strategy? Do you think Facebook users are the next big vote bank in the Indian politics?

Share your opinions with us in the comments below.