NaMo App Poll on NRC Raises Questions About the App’s Purpose

A question about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that appeared on the Narendra Modi Mobile App, popularly known as the NaMo App, has prompted questions over whether the app is being used to gauge public opinion on live political issues. On Friday, users of the app were asked whether they thought opposition parties were politicising the NRC at the cost of national security.

The question and the app

The NRC exercise in Assam has dominated political debate across much of the country, and the issue has now reached the Prime Minister’s app as well. The app, which has around five million users, is installed voluntarily by people who support the Modi government and want a direct line to the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Modi has used the app to interact with women from self-help groups in Patna and plans to use it more on future occasions. A commentary argued that the NRC question sat uneasily with that purpose: on one side the app is used for the welfare of citizens, and on the other to read people’s views on the situation in Assam.

The criticism

The commentary noted that many people in Assam were anxious and searching the NRC draft list for their names to confirm their citizenship and protect their property, and argued that this was a moment of political opportunism.

Election management systems

The piece also described, in general terms, election management software, which it said gives candidates real-time voter information and constituency-wise and age-wise analysis of voters, can help flag duplicate or deceased voters, and keeps voter data online across phones, tablets and computers. It did not say who runs such a system or link it directly to the NaMo app.

See also: Election news

Originally published on 9 August 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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