Impact of Internet on Citizen's Perception:A Case Study on the Andhra Experience

The study has tried to analyze through an exploratory case study on Andhra Pradesh a state in India, the principal question, can use of Internet, influence citizen attitudes toward government. The scientific research is based on five focus group interviews with 10 knowledgeable members in each who had voted in the 2004 elections in which the incumbent government that had tremendous interest in bringing and using Internet as a medium lost heavily. The interviews focused on the perceptions of development of IT facilities and IT industry in the state, economic development under Chandrababu Naidu the Chief Minister of the state, whether the electorate derived benefits because of the introduction of Internet based services, did this new technology bring in opportunities for employment to gauge whether over emphasis on Internet had an impact on the way the electorate voted, and a summary for the reasons of the democratic defeat of the government. The study concludes that in spite of all the utilities that the e-governance projects in Andhra Pradesh provided as well as the various popular projects that the government undertook; the focus on Internet technology had a very negative impact on the fate of the ruling party. The people were not comfortable using the medium. The reach was not adequate and the infrastructure requirements were also beyond the common man's means. Most of the electorate could not find any direct benefit and felt that the huge spending on the infrastructure was a huge waste and the government had neglected the cause of the common man in its pursuit of bringing in Internet. Further while e-governance improved perceptions of government processes it did little to improve trust. The study has indicated that the relationship between technology and government is very complex that may have several unintended and unpredicted consequences and confusing outcomes in India.