Use of Social Media by Elected Representatives in Maharashtra: A Study

As Abraham Lincoln has said, democracy is government of the people, for the people and by the people. Citizens elect their representative for governing them, and for making suitable policies for the development of the country. Earlier, the involvement of the citizens in democracy was limited because of insufficiency of means for connecting with their representatives. But with the emergence of new media, democracy has gained a new dimension – the participation of the citizens has increased. They can comment on, criticize or support their representatives, their parties and the policies of the government. The use of mobile phone, new apps, internet and social networking sites has been increasing exponentially in India. New platforms have become available for people to voice their opinions. The tools that have become available with the new media are many, and have made one-on-one interaction easier, cheaper and less time consuming, and therefore so much more extensive and effective. But the larger question here is, how aware are our elected representatives of these tools? In other words, do they use new media? Do they have their own websites? Do they use social networking sites to interact with their voters or member of the constituency? Do they respond to emails? What is their opinion about the new media? This is an attempt to find out answers to all the above questions. This is a case study for determining the usage of new media by all the Members of Parliament (MP) of Maharashtra. There are 48 MPs from Maharashtra. This study hopes to understand their attitude towards the new media. Effective use of new media can enhance communication between the citizens and their representatives. This will lead to a better and healthier democracy