17 April,2009 08:51 AM IST | | Savie Karnel
Volunteers wanted. No, not for the contestants but for the voters
National Election Watch (New), a group of NGOs, wants volunteers to pitch in and make voters aware of their candidates.
New has collected information of candidates throughout the country through affidavits submitted by them while filing their nominations. It has also made comparison charts of candidates in each constituency, with details including criminal cases against them, education and assets. It now wants help to spread this information.
"You can print the comparison charts directly from the browser and they will fit nicely on an A4 size paper. We suggest everyone get 100 pages printed and distribute to people in your area, especially to people who do not have access to the internet," said Amit Bairwal, national co-ordinator, in an e-mail.
How you can help
>>Can you tell some of your friends about the website www.myneta.info?
>>Can you print and paste posters in your constituency? You can use the comparison chart link under each constituency.
>>Do you blog? If so, can you link the website?
>>Are you a member of an online community? If so, can you tell the group about this initiative?
>>Do you use social networking sites like Twitter, Orkut, Facebook, MySpace LinkedIn?u00a0 If so, link myneta.info through your profile.
>>Do you know some people who cannot use the web but can use SMS? If so, tell them to send an SMS to 56070 with the message "Myneta PINCODE" (Myneta space six digit pin code). New will respond to that SMS with info about candidates in that constituency.
>>What if your grandma doesn't use the web or SMS? You can still help her. To do that, go to the website and open her constituency page. Call her and read out the details about candidates in her constituency.
>>For everyone else, we have a toll free number 1-800-110-440 from Mondays to Saturdays (10am to 6pm).
