A citizen-centric digital platform aimed at enabling people to raise their issues and priorities and consolidate them into constituency, district and state-level agendas was formally launched here on Wednesday.
Called 'Opinion of Punjab', the non-profit platform was launched at Tagore Theatre with over 1,000 people joining the launch of the application. Punjab is set to go to polls early next year.
Platform to consolidate people's priorities
The platform seeks to bring together issues from more than 13,000 villages and 2,100 municipal wards across 117 assembly constituencies and 23 districts, with the stated objective of eventually converting the collective priorities of people into a "people's manifesto", a statement said.
Citizens can raise, view and contribute to issues at the village, ward, assembly constituency, district, parliamentary constituency and state levels.
Speaking at the launch, Himanshu Pathak, founder of 'Opinion of Punjab', said, "Punjab's agenda should be set by Punjab's people, village by village, ward by ward, constituency by constituency. 'Opinion of Punjab' is an effort to make that participation continuous, visible and meaningful."
He added, "Democracy needs a mechanism through which people are continuously heard, not only at the time of elections. 'Opinion of Punjab' has been created to provide that continuous space, an agenda by the people and for the people."
Elected Representative Tracker
A key feature of the platform is the Elected Representative Tracker, which will cover Punjab's 117 MLAs, 13 Lok Sabha MPs and seven Rajya Sabha MPs. It will bring together available information on their work, participation, public interventions, performance and accountability, besides benefits and entitlements associated with their elected office, the statement said.
The platform also has a feature called "Speak", through which citizens can raise issues and priorities at different levels. They can post issues anonymously or using their verified name and phone number.
Platform to connect citizens with representatives
Another feature, "Stand", will allow prospective electoral representatives to introduce themselves and connect with citizens across the state's 117 assembly constituencies.
The platform is envisaged as an ongoing mechanism for civic participation rather than a one-time initiative, with the aim of making public concerns more visible and strengthening transparency around representation and accountability.