New Delhi: A video of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot goes viral. Within the video, whereas interacting with a lady throughout an occasion saying his 500-rupees-a-cylinder scheme Monday, Gehlot asks her whether or not she has cows. The girl says, “Gaaye nahi hai, mitthu hai (Not cows, I’ve a parrot).”
Gehlot laughs and enquires about Mitthu’s well being. “Inform Mitthu that you simply informed the CM about him and let me know what he says,” Gehlot tells the girl.
This video does the CM a number of favours. It helps him construct on-ground join, makes his phrases memorable and him appear extra accessible.
Therefore, that is the second that Political consultancy agency DesignBoxed — employed by Gehlot to run his marketing campaign — has been enjoying up on social media.
Because the Congress within the state finds itself in a ‘will-he-won’t-he-stay’ state of affairs with Sachin Pilot — Gehlot’s adversary within the social gathering — the Rajasthan CM has taken a leaf out of his Karnataka colleague D.Ok. Shivakumar’s ebook and roped in DesignBoxed forward of the state polls in December.
Led by Naresh Arora and Gunjeet Kaur, DesignBoxed plans to run a “constructive” and “public welfarist” marketing campaign for the Congress in Rajasthan, identical to they did in Karnataka.
“In Karnataka, we proved that should you follow public points and put the may of the (social gathering) cadre behind it, it really works”, mentioned Vinayak Dutt, Head, Analysis and Media, at DesignBoxed.
In Karnataka in 2021, when DesignBoxed was introduced in, Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah had been engaged in a factional struggle. Nevertheless, in keeping with DesignBoxed functionaries, the technique adopted then was to shift the main focus in the direction of welfare schemes. The social gathering’s determination to prioritise its 5 ballot ensures — its predominant electoral platform within the state — was a step on this course.
“It was our concept to introduce the time period ‘assure’, which we had first used after we had been doing the Assam marketing campaign for the Congress. We’re not participating in Hindu-Muslim polarisation (in Rajasthan) as a result of now we have seen {that a} public welfarist mannequin helped us win highly-polarised seats in Karnataka as nicely. We are attempting to create a story round public welfare as a substitute,” mentioned Dutt.
ThePrint reached the Rajasthan Chief Minister’s Workplace for remark through e mail. This text might be up to date if and when a response is obtained.
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A ‘constructive’ power
DesignBoxed was employed by Gehlot proper earlier than the state funds in February this yr. The Finances session was preceded by a PR blitzkrieg. Its theme — “Bachat, Rahat and Badhat (financial savings, aid and progress)”.
In April, the authorities began the ‘Mehngai Rahat’ camps to be able to develop the attain of its schemes.
Underneath Mehngai Rahat, anyone with a Jan Aadhaar card can register themselves to know which of 10 authorities welfare schemes they’re eligible for. Thereafter, they will register themselves for the schemes on the camp.
“The Mehngai Rahat camps are turning notion, serving to reduce down anti-incumbency. It’s particularly discovering resonance amongst ladies. We imagine within the idea of constructive campaigns, versus retaliatory, adverse campaigns. We’ve seen that it helps get the swing voters on board as a result of, on the finish of the day, they ask what they’ll get,” mentioned Dutt.
A supply at DesignBoxed additionally mentioned that there’s a every day tracker in place that tracks the numbers for the camp, together with modified selections of voters.
In keeping with a number of the prime executives at DesignBoxed, who spoke to ThePrint on situation of anonymity, their two largest learnings from Karnataka had been to not advise “one-upmanship” and to concentrate on “simplistic, one-on-one communication”.
Gehlot’s viral “Mitthu” video, mentioned an government, is an efficient instance.
“We had been smiling after we had been enhancing the video, so it would after all have an identical impression on these watching it. Such sort of one-on-one communication helps individuals assume that the chief is accessible,” mentioned the chief.
“We don’t assume social media campaigns or any sort of communication marketing campaign can work with out the chief being on the bottom. Then we attempt to swing our narrative to that and make sure that the in-fighting just isn’t highlighted. We’ve discovered that solely people who find themselves politically conscious take a look at points like factionalism. Others solely care about what they’re getting from the federal government,” the chief added.
One other DesignBoxed government mentioned that neither Gehlot nor Shivakumar requested for a private marketing campaign. That’s the reason their focus has been on establishing not simply the individual, however the social gathering as nicely.
“Optimistic campaigns get votes. Unfavourable campaigns get headlines,” the chief mentioned. “When you see, the ‘acche din’ slogan labored as a result of it gave individuals hope. Its theme was constructive. It informed those who one thing nice was across the nook. That’s the sort of communication and messaging we imagine in,” he added.
Working with the Congress ‘tough’
Each Gehlot and Shivakumar’s determination to rent DesignBoxed is critical contemplating that the Congress already has strategist Sunil Kanugolu’s Inclusive Minds working for it. The truth is, whereas Kanugolu, now a member of the Congress, has labored with events throughout the spectrum — just like the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering (BJP), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), amongst others — DesignBoxed has solely ever labored for the Congress in its 11-year journey.
Not like different political consultancies like IPAC or Inclusive Minds (beforehand MindShare Analytics), DesignBoxed began off working for particular person shoppers — candidates trying to be MLAs. They weren’t affiliated to the social gathering.
Their first huge undertaking was when former Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh introduced them on to deal with communication for the social gathering within the final month of the Punjab marketing campaign in 2017.
After that, in 2018, the consultancy went on to work in Chhattisgarh, the place they had been roped in by then Congress Legislature Social gathering chief T.S. Singhdeo. After that they labored in Rajasthan for the Congress in 2018, the final election, when Pilot was the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president.
In 2019, the AICC, directed by the late Ahmed Patel, employed the agency for the Haryana marketing campaign. DesignBoxed then labored for the Congress within the Assam elections of 2021 and Meghalaya in 2022 and, after all, Karnataka in 2023.
Most of those campaigns have been shedding campaigns, and the group says it’s due to paucity of time. Secondly, they mentioned, Congress is a harder shopper than most.
“We had two years in Karnataka and we delivered. We had 9 months in Chhattisgarh and we delivered. We had simply 30 days in Haryana and 72 days in Assam. In Meghalaya, the place the TMC (Trinamool Congress) had poached our complete social gathering and IPAC (Indian Political Motion Committee) had been working for months, we solely obtained 24 days,” mentioned one other DesignBoxed government. “But, should you see the outcomes of those states — in Haryana, we obtained 33 seats when AICC was anticipating single digits. In Assam, we obtained 29 seats, up from the final time. In Meghalaya, we tied with the TMC.”
“Additionally it is much more tough to work with the Congress as a result of there are a number of bosses and there isn’t one single chain of command. Secondly, we additionally haven’t signed ‘successful’ campaigns as such. Our objective is to ship leads to the time now we have been given. In Rajasthan now we have 9 months as nicely. We hope to win it for the social gathering,” the chief added.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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