TheFiveFortyFive.com denotes the number of seats in Parliament.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: A group of Indian students at Columbia University has created an online campaign to drive awareness of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in India.
The website, entitled TheFiveFortyFive.com and sub-headed “Conversations on India’s Elections,” was started by journalism students Devjyot Ghoshal, Rishi Iyengar, Anand Katakam, Indrani Basu, Iva Dixit and Aparna Alluri, to share news and information regarding the elections.
The name TheFiveFortyFive was chosen because 545 is the number of seats that are in the Indian Parliament, similar to the 435 seats in the US House of Representatives and the 100 Senators that makes up the other house of Congress. As the site’s creators say, “[545 is] the number of seats in the India’s Lok Sabha (Some might say 543, but the president can nominate two members).
“Think of it as writing for your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues,” says the site’s “About” page. “No high-brow, jargon-led, politically-driven journalism. There are enough newspapers doing that already. TheFiveFortyFive.com will break through the clutter, delivering pieces that’ll interest even the most non-political of readers.”
In addition to just covering election-related news and opinions, TheFiveFortyFive sauys it will also feature elections trivia, facts, graphics, charts, and other elements to help make the elections easier to understand. The election system in India does not allow citizens outside the country to cast ballots, however, requiring that anyone who wants to vote must be in India during the election time.
There is not much content on the site at present, but some of the stories posted include “The (Interactive) Telangana Timeline, and 11 Things You Need to Know” and “62 Years Ago, India’s First Experiment With Democracy,” with info-graphics charting the progress of the candidates, Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi, on their election campaign trail thus far.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com