Now, know your candidate through Googleware

NEW DELHI: Google on Tuesday launched a new tool — Know Your Candidates. This will allow people to get easy access to relevant information about political candidates contesting from their constituency and their incumbent Member of Parliament.

As part of its election portal ‘google.co.in/elections’, this tool integrates publicly available information sourced from organisations such as Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PRS Legislative Research and Liberty Institute India.

It will provide valuable information for each sitting Lok Sabha MP and contesting candidates such as their disclosed educational background, financial details and social media presence including video bios of the candidates provided by Ping networks. Mapped on to Google Maps interface, citizens will be able to find information by using pin codes of their area or by zooming on their locality on the map.

Trilochan Sastry, a founding member of ADR, applauded the tool. “We are delighted to collaborate with Google to launch this tool, which will help our concerted effort to disseminate to the citizens of India the background information of candidates contesting the Lok Sabha 2014 elections. It will enable them to make an informed choice,” Sastry said.

Rajan Anandan, VP and managing director of Google India said, “We hope that making this information easily accessible will help Indian voters learn more about candidates.” HTC