Just as the hi-tech, high-pitch Barack Obama-John McCain campaign drew to a close, news arrived that India’s mainline political parties had lined up similar smart tools for the forthcoming Assembly elections. In at least four states in the Hindi heartland the contestants have migrated to highly sophisticated campaign methods. 
They no longer rely exclusively on banners, posters, hoardings, cut-outs and graffiti -- and those old-fashioned sound amplifiers are swiftly being discarded for neater stuff. Indeed even the rural voters, long accustomed to politicians making their point through folk songs and local dances and art forms, are this time round being wooed in true firangi style.
While the Congress has fitted its campaign vehicles with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to track their movement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using social service networks, mobile telephony and FM radio stations to woo young voters. The Congress has also been aping the BJP’s 2004 campaign strategy by launching the appeals of its president Sonia Gandhi, Youth Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in recorded messages relayed through telephones. So don’t for a moment be surprised if your phone rings and the caller says, Main Sonia Gandhi bol rahi hoon (This is Sonia Gandhi).
Congress’s central unit has hired Crayon Advertising to push its campaign, leaving the state units to pick their own favourites. Another departure from earlier campaigns is to get comedians like Ehsan Qureshi and Raju Srivastava commanding high TRPS to pitch in. “With them we hope to make our campaigns livelier and thus hit the right cord among the electorate,” says AICC Media Committee chairman Veerappa Moily.
BJP’s campaign armour is being overseen by an unassuming IIM Ahmedabad alumni, Prodyut Bora, who is head of the party’s IT cell. Bora had quit his top job at a software company four years ago to join the party fulltime. He has not only updated the BJP’s website (he can’t hide his admiration for Barack Obama’s campaign website), but has also designed his party’s e-mail system with instant messenger (IM) facility. All of the party’s primary members are issued special e-mail ids to enable uninterrupted online chats with their leaders.....Continue
They no longer rely exclusively on banners, posters, hoardings, cut-outs and graffiti -- and those old-fashioned sound amplifiers are swiftly being discarded for neater stuff. Indeed even the rural voters, long accustomed to politicians making their point through folk songs and local dances and art forms, are this time round being wooed in true firangi style.While the Congress has fitted its campaign vehicles with General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) to track their movement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is using social service networks, mobile telephony and FM radio stations to woo young voters. The Congress has also been aping the BJP’s 2004 campaign strategy by launching the appeals of its president Sonia Gandhi, Youth Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in recorded messages relayed through telephones. So don’t for a moment be surprised if your phone rings and the caller says, Main Sonia Gandhi bol rahi hoon (This is Sonia Gandhi).
Congress’s central unit has hired Crayon Advertising to push its campaign, leaving the state units to pick their own favourites. Another departure from earlier campaigns is to get comedians like Ehsan Qureshi and Raju Srivastava commanding high TRPS to pitch in. “With them we hope to make our campaigns livelier and thus hit the right cord among the electorate,” says AICC Media Committee chairman Veerappa Moily.
BJP’s campaign armour is being overseen by an unassuming IIM Ahmedabad alumni, Prodyut Bora, who is head of the party’s IT cell. Bora had quit his top job at a software company four years ago to join the party fulltime. He has not only updated the BJP’s website (he can’t hide his admiration for Barack Obama’s campaign website), but has also designed his party’s e-mail system with instant messenger (IM) facility. All of the party’s primary members are issued special e-mail ids to enable uninterrupted online chats with their leaders.....Continue
