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MP Election Commission improves voter participation with easy access and conversations
The victory story of Chief Electoral Officer – Madhya Pradesh’s Chatbot
Governance Goes Conversational:
1.2 m
On polling day
200K people
1.2M Citizens Engaged by MP Election Chatbot
In the 2023 State assembly elections, we successfully implemented a 24/7 WhatsApp chatbot, revolutionizing citizen engagement. With over 1.2 million interactions, the bot provided quick and accurate information, addressing queries, facilitating voter registration, and enabling real-time communication with polling officers. This initiative not only enhanced voter participation but also set the stage for continuous interaction, positioning the chatbot as a crucial channel for future electoral processes.
About the Brand
MP Election Commission
Madhya Pradesh, India’s fifth-largest state has 5.5 million eligible voters. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Madhya Pradesh, appointed by the Election Commission of India oversees elections, maintains electoral rolls, and ensures the smooth functioning of democratic processes. In November 2023 State assembly elections, the CEO-MP team aimed to establish a two-way communication channel with citizens.
The Brand’s Challenge
The MP Election Commission faced several challenges in its effort to enhance citizen engagement, particularly among the youth. One of the primary issues was the low participation of young voters, largely due to the lack of modern, interactive platforms that resonated with their digital habits. The existing voter services, including Voter ID registration and database updates, were not user-friendly, making the process cumbersome and discouraging. Communication methods were outdated, relying heavily on SMS and static web portals that supported only one-way information flow, with no mechanism to collect feedback or address citizen queries in real-time. This lack of interactivity and responsiveness hindered the Commission’s ability to build trust and drive engagement. Furthermore, the limited accessibility of these platforms failed to cater to a wide range of demographics, particularly mobile-first users, resulting in ineffective voter awareness campaigns and ultimately, lower voter turnout.
The Solution
Launched during the 2023 Madhya Pradesh state assembly electoral roll preparation
To address these challenges, the MP Election Commission established a two-way conversational channel specifically designed to engage tech-savvy youth and modernize voter interaction. This solution aimed to collect real-time feedback, quickly resolve election-related queries, facilitate voter registration, and disseminate informational updates at scale.
As part of the 2023 Madhya Pradesh state assembly electoral roll preparation, the Chief Electoral Officer (MP), in partnership with Gupshup, launched a 24/7 WhatsApp chatbot. This chatbot was built to assist citizens with accurate form submissions, provide instant responses to queries, and guide users to the official Election Commission portal when needed. To maximize reach and awareness, the team leveraged legacy voter databases to run targeted WhatsApp campaigns and actively promoted the new channel through newspapers, Facebook, and Twitter, ensuring widespread and direct citizen engagement.
The Success
Engaging citizens and resolving their queries
The chatbot engaged over 12 lakh (1.2 million) citizens, serving as an easy way to interact with the Election Commission. People came to the bot for getting answers to queries such as if their name is already enrolled in the voter list, where they need to go on polling day, can they vote with Aadhar Card, etc.
Voter ID Registration & Correction
Around 2 lakh individuals seeking corrections in voter IDs or submitting new registration forms were directed to the appropriate portal links. This built trust, as the guidance came from the official WhatsApp handle of CEO-MP, alleviating citizens’ concerns about online form submissions.
Real-time communication with polling officers on election day
WhatsApp efficiently delivered timely alerts to 65,000 deployed polling officers, ensuring vital information dissemination and intelligence gathering at specific time intervals. Due to ease of use and interaction, 95% of officers responded to a range of alerts sent on polling day within 15 minutes. The responses helped calculate the percentage of voting completed in different parts of the state on polling day, and could be shared rapidly with media outlets and the Election Commission of India for reporting.
Future Plans
The CEO-MP team plans to collaborate with Gupshup to enhance the chatbot with features providing information on the election process, political parties, and related queries. The aim is to establish the chatbot as an always-on channel for continuous citizen interaction with the Election Commission. Additionally, the team will leverage the service to prompt citizens for requests such as deletion of deceased voter IDs during the annual update window. Looking ahead, the WhatsApp initiative will help engage new voters, i.e. citizens turning 18 and becoming eligible to vote.
Use Case Summary
Solution
Conversational Marketing,
Conversational Commerce
Channel
Industry
Food Ordering & Delivery
