‘Modi’fication to new-age ‘phygital’ campaigns: The decade of changing paradigm of political consulting

In today’s highly politically competitive era, elections start on the day of swearing-in. And the way you govern defines how long you stay in power.

By – Shoumik Shetty

Since the days when political parties would provide favours to caste leaders to get votes, and many people believed that dynastic politics would assure electoral victories, the landscape of Indian politics has changed drastically. This change has been fueled by demographic shifts such as a multi-fold increase in the middle class, enhanced tech and social media penetration, the fading of traditional hierarchies, and much more. Previously politicians only had the option of hiring family members such as nephews, nieces, brothers or friends and associates into managerial roles either for elections or party positions.

BJP’s stunning victories are a perfect example of how social media and analytics affect the elections and voting trajectory in unprecedented ways. Modi’s 2014 campaign was primarily inspired by Obama’s game-changing 2008 presidential election. After witnessing Obama’s MyBO campaign success, Modi launched the NaMo store (Narendra Modi Store) online, offering up products inspired by Modi’s life and beliefs. Team Modi also launched the ‘India 272+’ initiative, which was akin to the Obama Dashboard. For the first time, professionals were brought in to run campaigns, and the focus shifted towards digital strategies, data collection, and new media.

Innovation always follows a ‘trickle down’ trend. First, the most prominent names or companies adopt a new strategy, and then it’s mimicked by smaller players. Similarly, in politics, new wave political strategies were used in the world’s biggest elections. However, certain strategies can now be observed routinely, even at a panchayat level, be it the rampant use of social media or WhatsApp marketing to influence voters.

With thousands of candidates entering the fray every year, elections are becoming a challenging feat. So, let’s look at some growth enablers that politicians must emphasise to win the hearts of millions.

Success mantra for politicians in the new age political landscape

The next wave of political innovation lies in pro-incumbency and governance strategy and execution. Narendra Modi and the BJP, with its corporate-inspired structure and approach, as well as its reliance on an army of think tanks and consultants, epitomise the new approach to governance.

Last-mile execution of policy by the Modi administration has been a success, which means the initiatives launched by the central government have been felt even by the remotest parts of the population. Whether it’s rural electrification or the JAM trinity that stands for (Jan Dhan Yojana to help everyone open bank accounts, Aadhaar to provide every Indian with a biometric-authenticated unique identity number, and mobile phones to expand the reach of services to the poor), each initiative is making a difference in people’s lives.

What does he do to keep getting re-elected and fight anti-incumbency? In today’s highly politically competitive era, elections start on the day of swearing-in. And the way you govern defines how long you stay in power.

For businesses, it often costs less to retain customers than to acquire new ones, and the data in politics is pointing to the same trend; it costs less to retain voters than to acquire new ones. Hence, politicians are now hiring professionals not just for their election services but also to improve their governance and fight anti-incumbency. The next election now starts from the day of swearing-in.

Voters only have one goal in mind: to elect someone who can understand their needs. Hence, to keep up with the people’s expectations, state political parties and individual politicians are becoming more innovative with their constituencies and are using data to understand voter perceptions and problems. For example, in the Kerala assembly election, digital agencies and party IT wings used data analytics and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to collect voter data that could differentiate and analyse past voting trends with the rise or fall in the candidates’ popularity.

Today the narrative around successful elections is shifting to the actual work performed by governments and individual politicians. New India will vote for welfare, equity, transparency and progressive politics.

How are political consulting firms changing the game for Indian politics?

Whenever we encounter an issue in our lives, we seek advice from trusted sources, like family or friends. Politicians also need this, especially when making difficult decisions. This is where political consulting firms come into the picture as allies who help politicians devise strategies for last-mile services and run cutting-edge political campaigns from an unbiased, objective viewpoint.

Furthermore, with a conflux of strategy and execution, creative, and technology, they assist visionaries in transforming their constituencies and bringing their political visions to life. They help them gauge voter opinion by conducting polls, profiling, event planning, and war room strategies. They provide political parties with the data about the candidate’s popularity within the target audience, the problems that impact them, and how they react to the candidate’s most recent event.

Apart from that, they take care of the social media, SEO and comprehensive digital strategy, merchandise, OOH advertising, and political party branding to improve the visibility and send communications to the general electorate. They also leverage technology to provide a range of digitally native services spanning from booth-level party worker applications to the voter, data processing and visualisation software, and electorate service request applications.

Conclusion

Indian voters have demonstrated that there is no alternative to pure motive, welfare and development politics. Understanding this, politicians are teaming up with political consulting firms to build a personal connection with their people with efficient feedback loops and present themselves as someone who understands their requirements and can overcome last-mile hurdles to give what they need when they need it. Hence, it won’t be wrong to say that political consulting firms are like Krishna in the Mahabharata, providing visionaries with the resources they need to bring their political visions to fruition and thrive on election battlegrounds. So, it will be great to watch how they will change the face of Indian politics in the coming years.

(The author is the co-founder and Managing Director of Politechnica, a political consultancy firm. Views expressed are personal.)