Facebook users to decide the fate of next Lok Sabha elections?

India is not new to the social sphere. We’ve had our Orkut, Hi5, MySpace and now Facebook and Twitter. What is new, though, is the sense of empowerment that one has now come to associate with the social media in India. Now, more than ever before, Indians on the internet are aware of politics in India are not afraid to voice their opinion on it.But are these young, new breed of politically sound Indians enough in number to create a dent in the results upcoming general elections in India? A study by IRIS Knowledge Foundation seems to think so. At a conservative estimate, the study believes that the fate of no less than 150 constituencies will be determined by social media users when India goes into elections next year. At the helm of this change in the social sphere is Facebook. A report released by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) in February 2013 entitled “Social Media in India 2012” placed the number of social media users in urban India at 62 million by December 2012. According to the report’s estimates, by the time the 16th Lok Sabha elections are held in mid 2014, the numbers will swell to 80 million users approximately. Currently, a whopping 97 percent of all social media users access Facebook on a daily basis. Could Facebook influence the general elections? (Background Image Credit: Getty Images)Click here for full story