Taking on the TV channels to cover the elections on May 10, private telecom service providers are all set to offer poll news updates and analyses on mobile phones to subscribers.

The leaders in the private sector — Reliance, Airtel and Hutch — have roped in well-known analysts and commentators to provide subscribers with daily news analyses. Lucky clients may win a trip to Malaysia or own a new car if they can predict the future Prime Minister and his Cabinet.

While Reliance has tied up with Star News, Hutch has signed in with another private news channel to screen election news updates on handsets. “All the information you want on the ongoing polls is within your grasp. You can log on to Reliance R-World, the in-built media data service, and click onto the options listed on the screen,” said a Reliance spokesperson.

Reliance users do have an edge over the others: they can even log on to live screenings of private Hindi and English news channels from their mobile handsets.

“You can look for the latest headlines, that are updated every 15 minutes, or even search for profiles of candidates and constituencies. On the counting day, every-minute updates of results will be displayed,” he added.

Reliance subscribers can key in their opinions related to the polls or vote for someone else’s opinion. As they read on and analyse the elections, they can come up with names that they feel will head the government at the Centre.

“In doing so, you have actually given yourself a chance to win prizes that includes a trip to Malaysia. Digital technology helps you access the data at a very high speed,” the spokesperson said.

To a Hutch or Airtel subscriber, election news is available via SMS services.

“You can SMS ‘ELECT’ to 123 or dial 123 and say ‘ELECT’ to hear the election news and special analyses by NDTV anchors.

“We have partnered with the news channel to provide news updates on mobile phones,” said Harit Nagpal, Hutch vice-president, corporate marketing.

Airtel has also come up with voice updates of election news bulletins every 20 minutes and has organised news analysis sessions with leading poll analysts.

“To complement voice-based election news services, we have launched a subscription-based SMS service at Rs 30 per month. General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) handsets can download a special software to ensure live updates of news,” said Deepak Gulati, chief executive officer (eastern region).