Opinion | Elections 2024: The Growing Relevance Of India's Backroom Strategists

Though considered sine qua non in a democracy, elections in India are no longer about canvassing, voting and counting alone. Gone are the days when candidates walked door to door, in their best behaviour, accompanied by acolytes, asking for votes as the sole election-winning strategy. A lot has changed with the emergence of professionals, or poll strategists.

Elections are fought no longer only on emotions, issues and ideology. They are powered by technology today, by savvy professionals who have the capability to swing results. Psephologists, advisors, speech writers, data analysts and tech and AI experts form the core backend team of election management firms that support political parties and their candidates. These firms offer an all-inclusive range of services to political candidates and parties, encompassing strategic planning, campaign management, communication and messaging, voter research and analysis, and digital marketing.

All Parties Have Strategists Today

Social media played an important role in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), which led Narendra Modi's election campaign, served to popularise the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) him as a strong, development-focused leader who could replicate the 'Gujarat model' in the rest of the country. Political consultants or election management firms have gained popularity since then. The BJP, of course, had the first-mover advantage, but today, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) have all joined the bandwagon.

Novel Ideas For Campaigning

Election management companies mainly comprise tech-savvy strategists who handle digital campaigning and planning. Working in tandem with top politicians and big political parties, these firms have been instrumental in shaping public opinion and transforming the way elections are fought in India. Their incisive analysis of booth-level data now helps decide who gets the ticket to contest. The demand for political consultants has only increased over the years, given the size of Indian democracy and the number of elections every year.

According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), seven national parties and 25 regional parties collected Rs. 6,405 crore during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Of this, the parties spent a sizable chunk on media advertisement (Rs 1,166 crore), followed by publicity material (Rs 222 crore) and public meetings (Rs 107 crore).

The Costs Involved

Much of the expenditure of political parties is planned, managed and driven by political consultancy firms today. Projects given to these consulting firms are time-bound, and co-terminus with the elections. Political parties with money may engage them for a longer time and use their services for post-poll analysis too.

In India, political consultants, big and small, can charge anything between Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh for each constituency. A team of eight to 10 members costs anywhere between Rs 5-10 lakh per month for an MP candidate. Big political consultants have packages ranging from Rs 50 lakh to upwards of Rs 1 crore for political parties. The services on offer include managing media, planning campaigns, marketing policies, designing promotional material, website and social media pages, and weighing the winning chances of rival candidates.

"Election management has evolved over the years and it'll keep evolving. Today, there are consultants and managers in back-rooms managing the minutest details in poll strategies for elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabhas, and even wards. Emerging technologies and tools have enabled political parties to reach voters according to their interests and behaviour," says Sagar Vishnoi, a Political AI Strategist. Not just in cities and towns, political parties also use these agencies for candidate and constituency profiling in rural areas.

The Workings Of An Election Consultancy Firm

A political campaign takes months to be designed and every political strategist has a different approach. Generally, the election management company offers end-to-end services to a politician or a political party and starts work five to six months ahead of the elections. The firm tries to understand their requirements and goals and comes up with time-bound plans/solutions.  

Earlier, political parties used to conduct physical surveys for their constituencies. But election management firms, using new technology tools and data, have extended these surveys to even booth and voter list levels, thus rendering highly precise findings. Candidates are selected/fielded based on the winnability indicated in these surveys. Some consultants also provide services like membership drives and digitised internal communication systems. "No matter how strong the party or candidate is, it still needs a trusted partner to evaluate the ground sentiment in an unbiased, objective manner. Reflecting the true ground sentiment and relaying it to the candidate in real-time is crucial for immediate course corrections in campaigning," says Vijay Rao, chief relationship officer, Rajneethi Political Management Consultants.  

Poll Planning In The Age Of Social Media And AI

Social media has been instrumental for political messaging and for reaching young voters. It has reduced, to some extent, the need for public rallies and door-to-door visits with 'one-to-one' messaging. Capitalising on social media is thus an important part of campaign management today. Firms today employ teams of social media experts, content writers and tech professionals to create platform-specific media campaigns that target voters based on their age, work, occupation and the medium they use. The 2019 Lok Sabha elections saw, for instance, BJP leaders using the hashtag 'mai bhi chowkidar' on Twitter after the party's campaign projected Modi as the 'chowkidar' (guard) of the country. This year, it's the hashtag 'Modi ka Parivar' (Modi's family) that has gained popularity. The rise of AI (artificial intelligence) and VR (virtual reality) has also helped political parties. 

"Political parties are exploring more options like holonet, holofans and holoBoxes for general elections 2024. There are multiple examples where we have seen politicians and campaigners using AI for better political communications. With the help of AI, leaders can now talk to people in their native language. A leader's AI avatar can do a digital press conference without being present," says Mr Vishnoi.

A Permanent Feature

India's political consultants are fast becoming a permanent feature of the country's election campaigns. The growing demand for them at the candidate level can also be explained by the increasingly rich and monied status of the average candidate contesting elections in India.

"With electoral dynamics changing rapidly and voter behaviour becoming more unpredictable, coupled with the emergence of newer tools and technologies for reaching the electorate, one can say that the wave of political consultants is here to stay," adds Rao.

However, such consultants are confined to the backroom. Seldom does a party or a candidate explicitly acknowledge their contribution. Politicians see themselves as a brand, and usually refrain from sharing credit for their victory. After all, it's all about their own winnability.
 

(Bharti Mishra Nath is a senior journalist)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author