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With many states, including UP and Punjab, going to polls around the corner, the Election Commission is looking to hire a private agency to track the print, television, digital, and social media space for coverage of issues concerning the electoral processes and the poll watchdog itself. The Election Commission is hiring a separate agency to monitor media coverage for the first time, according to sources. Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a government-owned company under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) in this regard.
According to the RFP, the agency will have to keep a tight eye on all major print, broadcast, and internet media, as well as social media platforms and foreign press, for coverage of the Election Commission and polling processes in various states.
It will have to create periodic sentiment analysis reports based on this coverage, categorizing news reports or opinion articles as favorable, negative, or neutral. This analysis can also be based on the EC’s suggested keywords. Furthermore, the company will be obliged to construct an interactive dashboard for all platforms, where all connected content will be published and where real-time notifications on poll-related developments will be shown.
The Election Commission’s efforts to get feedback on its decisions and other poll-related issues come as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa, and Manipur prepare to hold elections in the first half of next year. In the past, the poll monitor has faced criticism from a variety of quarters for its stance on suspected electoral process breaches. The poll organization would prefer to hire its own firm, according to the sources, because it needs quick feedback from the ground, particularly from poll-bound states.
According to the sources, ministries such as the MEA have feedback agencies that are specifically adapted to their needs, and the EC felt the need for a similar organization. The Election Commission asked the Madras High Court earlier this year for an injunction prohibiting the media from commenting on oral observations made during hearings of election-related issues. The petition was dismissed by the Madras High Court. Following that, the Supreme Court turned down the EC’s request for the Madras High Court’s views to be reported