 "JD(U)'s outreach campaign borrows liberally from AAP, BJP")
What came out that day was a true reflection of what Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar told his party colleagues only a few weeks ago. "Nitishji told us that we lost the 2014 Lok Sabha elections because we failed to communicate with the people. He told us 'is baar hamein kisi bhi haal mein prachar-prasar mein bhi aage rehna hai' (this time we have to stay ahead of our rivals, come what may)," says a JD(U) leader. He did not wish to be named as he is not authorised to speak. The sense one gets after speaking to scores of JD(U) leaders is that Nitish Kumar is indeed going to walk the talk on prachar-prasar this time. From constant training for party leaders to big hoardings with catchy slogans, from launching a helpline number to setting up war rooms and from a massive outreach programme to aggressive new media campaign, the JD(U) has drawn up an ambitious plan in the run-up to the elections.
Political observers say that the party is set to mount a campaign that will be a mix of what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) did in the Delhi assembly elections earlier this year. Incidentally, the party's campaign strategy has been designed by Prashant Kishor, who is credited with having shaped the BJP's successful election campaign in last year's Lok Sabha elections. Kishor made his maiden appearance at the June 19 meeting of the JD(U), giving an outline of what to do to in the run-up to the elections. His message to all party leaders was: go and ask people to vote for Nitish Kumar in the name of development.
Also Read
Kishor and his team of professionals have come out with slogans, which sound strikingly similar to the BJP's Lok Sabha campaign. While the BJP constantly harped on the slogan of 'abki baar Modi Sarkar', the main slogan of the JD(U) campaign is going to be 'phir ek baar Nitish Kumar' (Nitish Kumar once again). In fact, big hoardings bearing slogans like 'aage badhta rahe Bihar, phir ek baar Nitish Kumar' (Bihar will move ahead, Nitish Kumar once again) and 'bahut hua jumlon ka war, phir ek baar Nitish Kumar' (enough of rhetoric, Nitish Kumar once again) have already come up at all important locations in Patna.
The similarity does not end here. While the BJP had started chai pe charcha (discussion over a cup of tea), the JD(U) is set to start parcha pe charcha (discussion over a paper). The party has come out with a paper detailing the achievements of the government. Party leaders, including ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, office-bearers of state, district and block units have been asked to visit at least 10 households each. The idea of engaging with the people directly has perhaps come from the AAP. The party has set an ambitious target of reaching out to 30 million people by the end of July.
"We will use all means - modern and traditional - to reach out to the people. We will ask people to vote for us on the basis of what we have done on the governance front," says Vashishtha Narayan Singh, state president, JD(U). Party leaders also claim that many qualified professionals are willing to offer their services in support of Nitish Kumar. Party leaders also say that once interaction is over and detailed feedback from the people collected, there will be interaction through messages, WhatsApp, telephone calls, emails and social media. "We will also ask the people to download our caller tunes," says the JD(U) leader quoted above.
The JD(U) has adopted the new style of campaigning with a view to reach out to young voters, say party leaders. Reports say each of the 243 assembly seats in the state is going to have, on an average, 52,000 first-time voters. Nearly half of such young voters are estimated to be active on social media and the number is increasing every day. Political observers say that the BJP managed to successfully woo this section through its innovative campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. "By starting early and aggressively, the JD(U) wants to send a signal to party workers. It is an exercise aimed at enthusing party rank and file," observes a Patna-based journalist.
This is the first of a three-part series. For full report, visit www.business-standard.com
The entire exercise is to be coordinated from a few centralised centres. An aspiring JD(U) legislator told this reporter that three such centralised centres are operational at the moment, one of them being located at the CM's residence.
The Nitish Kumar-led party has also launched a helpline number exhorting people to be a part of his campaign by giving a missed call to the number. Several auto rickshaws carrying posters with the JD(U) helpline number are already plying across the streets of Patna.
Other than party's parcha pe charcha programme to connect with the people, the JD(U)-led state government has also started badh chala Bihar campaign. Temporarily on hold till July 10 at the behest of the Election Commission because of upcoming elections for state legislative council, the high-tech campaign is ostensibly aimed at eliciting opinion of nearly 40 million people to prepare a Bihar 2025 vision document. As part of the campaign, nearly 400 trucks equipped with television sets, music systems, microphones and speakers will travel to 40,000 villages showcasing the achievements of the government.
| NITISH CAMPAIGN |
|