BJP has it all

Armed with graphs, charts and PowerPoint presentations, political players in Gujarat are gearing up for the forthcoming elections.

Armed with graphs, charts and PowerPoint presentations, political players in Gujarat are gearing up for the forthcoming elections. The tools of corporate strategising that are making easy inroads into the electoral scape also include info-tech, which is being used by the BJP to good effect. The party8217;s IT cell, that was set up last year is being used not just to lure the Net-savvy, GenNext voters, but also for strategic planning and analysis.

8220;Campaigning is just one part of the entire operation,8221; says Shashiranjan Yadav, convenor of the cell, and the man responsible for the detailed analysis of the results in 182 constituencies in the past four Assembly elections. 8220;With all the data available to us, we can now plan and chalk out our strategy with greater precision,8221; he says.

8220;Analysing the past election results manually was a tedious process, with a lot of room for mistakes,8221; he says, adding that the use of technology has simplified and facilitated communication with party workers. 8220;Now not only have we got a clear picture on the number of seats which were party strongholds, but also the ones which never favoured us. And we could access all this data at the click of a mouse,8221; he adds.

The five-member cell, a brainchild of Chief Minister Narendra Modi, has its headquarters at BJP state office at Khanpur, Ahmedabad, with branches in every district and one dedicated worker in each centre. It is now set to assist the party in policy and strategic planning, besides launching a cyber attack against the Opposition.

Which means that the members work each day till late night. 8220;Though the cell is open from morning till midnight, workers work round the clock,8221; says Yadav.

While the party Web page8212;designed by Nirav Shah, a BJP sympathiser8212;is already in campaign mode, it will soon use cartoons and caricatures to get to the Opposition, the Congress. 8220;We have already hired a young cartoonist for the job,8221; says Yadav. On average, the page is updated almost thrice a day due to the current election fever.

8220;When we started, we weren8217;t too clear about the cell8217;s role, but now we do,8221; he says. 8220;The fact that the chief minister is tech-savvy means that PowerPoint presentations are now a regular part of the meetings,8221; says Yadav, adding that party leaders like Maya Kodnani and Bhikhu Dalsania are also adept at using technology for presentations and communication.

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8220;Yadav has been constantly improvising and it has made considerable difference in the functioning of the party. This will make significant contribution in internal functioning and campaigning,8221; says Vimal Shah, formar Gujarat Minister for IT.

Of the 1,000 candidates who contested the 2002 Assembly polls, 615 forfeited their deposits, which means that the defeated candidates failed to secure more than one-sixth of the valid votes polled in their constituencies.