As one of the youngest emerging economies in the world, India has more than 666 million people under the age of 35. This young demographic is being tapped by an 81 year old Hindu nationalist, L.K. Advani of the Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.



Sen. Barack Obama's campaign tactics intrigued the Premier candidate, who has been studying Sen. Barack Obama's online campaign as a guideline for how to garner youth votes. The Washington Post reports, "For a few months, a small team of political strategists, computer specialists and management graduates in New Delhi has been studying Obama's speeches and slogans, Website, campus outreach and rhetoric of change."



Advani plans to use cellphones and the Internet as channels of communication between his party and India's young voters. Currently, there are over 185 million mobile phone subscribers in India, a number that increases by 5.5 million every month.



Our Take: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and the Obama camp should be incredibly flattered. Regardless of language, culture, income or country, the Internet will continue to work as a universal tool for political networking and global social action. The ability of countries such as India and the United States to organize, empower and mobilize hundreds of millions of voters will continue to improve.