In election season, political consultants look to cash in

In election season, political consultancies sprout, grow and even make it big, and this is true across India.  The investment required is a keen political sense, a few computers, and data of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies. The most important requirement, however, is access to a political leader, and this is achieved only through connections or referrals. For instance, an existing player referring a new consultancy to a politician because it is not able to itself take up the job, has greater credibility than a cold call approach. In most cases, cold calls do not work because no one contesting elections can easily be convinced to part with money.

Since national parties have long-standing agreements with specific consultancies or have set up large in-house mechanisms, the new players often target the small regional parties and independents who have aspirations disproportionate to their reach.

The consultancies have various plans on offer and there are package rates as well as standalone rates for activities ranging from voter surveys, media management, social media strategy and research on rival candidates..

“One guy approached me and asked me for Rs.7 lakh for doing a survey in my constituency,” a candidate in Chennai said. The candidate declined the offer because it did not make sense. “I have almost all the details of the constituency, the voter list and the others things I require. If this chap is only going to give me a computerised version of the same why should I pay him?” the candidate asked.

Obviously, the consultant had failed to describe what exactly he can deliver for the candidate. In most cases, consultants are armed with power points and presentations and also give the candidate a clear picture of what the consultancy will be able to deliver.

The consultant’s primary task is to find out in which pockets of the constituency the candidate has good support, in which pockets the candidate does not have any support, and in which pockets voters can be targeted to be influenced. “This is actually most crucial. You have to realise and accept that there will always be pockets where the candidate will have no support,” said a consultant who has been working in this field in several States for over two decades. “But there will certainly be areas where people can be influenced. The job of the consultant does not end with telling the candidate that he or she is weak in this region, it is to suggest the tools to get over that handicap, and win the people over,” said the consultant, who did not want to be named.

But not all politicians believe in the powers of the consultant, even after what Prashanth Kishor delivered.  Many years ago, a consultant presented a data sheet with a SWOT analysis and remedial action to a political leader. As the leader was poring over the details, the leader’s associate came over and told the leader: “What is the use of all this? Finally people will take money and vote.” That was the end of the road of that political consultant with that party.