Chennai:
A website developed by 16-year-old Kapil Bhaskar helped Tamil Nadu voters know their candidates better – including their academic qualifications, assets and criminal records.
Called Neeyosi.com, the Class XII student’s website gave the information in a crisp bullet point form after scanning hundreds of pages of election affidavits.
“I used Artificial Intelligence to scan hundreds of pages and present key details in a nutshell,” he told NDTV.
“Neeyosi” means “You Think” or “You Decide” in Tamil. The page became an instant hit. Till the day before elections, more than 70,000 users checked details about their candidates.
“Many people vote mechanically, but it’s important to know who you are personally electing,” he added.
Kapil wants to take transparency to a new level. On what more details he’d want to add, the youngster says,” People ought to know what type of promises these candidates had made in the past and how much they fulfil. They must also read testimonials from other people”.
First-time voters seem to have largely benefited after reading the website.
“It is easy to access, and it helped me in knowing the list of parties and independent candidates contesting from my constituency. It is time-saving and concise,” said Niyati, a college student.
“I used to spend hours trying to understand who was running the polls in my area, as it was always so confusing. This website makes it incredibly easy. Now, I can see everything I need to know about a candidate’s past and their education in seconds. It finally feels simple to vote,” said Sriram Ramaswamy, a veteran voter in Chennai’s Velachery.
Kapil spent just Rs 1,500 to build the website, and his parents were very supportive of the initiative.
“I want to create more impact in the political space and put my skills in computer science and statistics to use for good societal impact,” he said.
(With inputs from Sri Smruthi S.)
