How young grads are helping craft poll narratives of veterans
How young grads are helping craft poll narratives of veterans
MUMBAI: Talk of a paradigm shift in politics is often blah but young interns in campaign backrooms are part of just that. You won’t see them at rallies or on TV screens though. These are grads hired in large numbers by consulting firms specialising in communication and public relations, and well entrenched in the political space.
Until 2014, poll strategies were devised through a process of trial and error based on public opinion. “But it’s a thing of the past now. After BJP’s 2014 win, they (politicians) started understanding the need for professionals who can gather and analyse data to be put to use,”said an employee of a top consulting firm.
Months ahead of an election, political consulting firms deploy teams to interact with voters and seek their opinion on issues ranging from economic concerns to welfare benefits. This understanding of on-ground sentiment then feeds into campaign strategy. The firms also provide support in other areas such as managing media and communication, handling logistics and research and data analysis.
A Nation with NaMo (NwN) employee told TOI that in the run-up to polls, NwN teams were split into campaign war rooms (CWRs), political war rooms (PWRs), and under the category governance, policy and intelligence (GPI). “CWRs have a client-facing role. They design campaigns for the client… provide them with a hundred solutions. It is up to them to implement which ones, if any,” he said. GPI, on the other hand, analyses data and handles preparation of manifestos.
PWRs comprising field workers form the largest group. “For Rajasthan assembly’s 200 seats, some 80 people were working on ground to collect data. Just speaking to 10 people on an average every day, we were able to get 800 responses in a day and as many as 24,000 in a month,” he added.
Given the extent of work, hiring, too, is on a large scale. Most of them are freshers looking for a break and they could be from B-schools, NLUs, or even IITs. But most of them are hired on a contractual basis and once elections are over, the CWRs and PWRs are dissolved. In NwN, there are two kinds of hires — short-term members (STMs) onboarded on a contractual basis and full-term members (FTMs), who are permanent employees hired as part of a Graduate Impact Leadership Programme (GILP). The FTM cohort is given extensive training. For those on contract, “they are directly thrown at the deep end”. Those hired for both categories are paid competitively, but STMs are not eligible for benefits, bonuses, and even the chances of them transitioning to an FTM are slim-to-none.
An engineering graduate said, “NwN had stepped up hiring in the run-up to the polls and visited my campus. But they were large ly looking for people for the short term. Though a more permanent role would have been preferable, they had an interesting job description that got me to apply. The job market also hasn’t been the best, so you take what you get.”
The pay offered is a deciding factor for many. Among his peers, the employee added, the average package on campus was Rs 9 lakh per annum. NwN was offering as much as Rs 18 lakh for a full-time role. Consulting firms I-PAC, Varahe Analytics, Inclusive minds, and ShowTime Consulting did not respond till the time of going to press, but their policies on staffing and pay may not differ much.
The placement cell of Hindu College in Delhi told TOI that political consultancies have been hiring more aggressively, especially for summer interns. “But a key reason why students’ applications have shot up is not because of an interest in politics… it’s due to the lack of opportunities compared to other domains.”
A former staff with Varahe Analytics said the average employee age in the industry is between 24 and 27 years, and a significant portion of hiring is via campus placements. “Young professionals are more efficient, driven, and can take the long hours,” he added. Another benefit with a younger cohort is they are largely party-agnostic. Though not a requirement, it plays to the analysts’ benefit when clients or roles change.
Aakansha Patodia, an ex-consultant with a leading political consultancy, said youngsters are also chosen as they don’t have a hectic personal life. From the candidate’s viewpoint, Patodia believes motivations are two-fold. “The competitive pay, of course, is a determinant. But it’s also the impact you create.”
Many, however, have only a brief stint in the field. This is partly because of how these places are run. “The environment is semicorporate at best. Work is hectic and can come up in the middle of the night also… you have to get it done,” said an industry insider.
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