Big tent BSP

In what appears to be a drastic change of approach,Mayawati has reached out to Pickle Lintas to package and sell the BSP to a wide spectrum of voters in the upcoming assembly election. While all the other parties in the UP fray have their own professional campaign consultants the Congress has PerceptH,the BJP has sounded out McCann Ericson,and the Samajwadi Party has Goldmine Advertising for the BSP,this is an unprecedented act and an acknowledgement of the need to connect with new constituencies.

Mayawati has a talent for makeovers after consolidating her Dalit base,she widened her partys aperture to bring in the concerns of Brahmins and other upper caste groups that had been left out as the Congress and the BJP waned in influence. Her official rhetoric now adopts issues of deprivation rooted in class and religion. She has even been encouraging of events like Formula One,and has championed industrial development. She tries to keep her politics nimble,racing to address any popular grievance that the opposition takes up. But if she is to keep her rainbow coalition together,she needs to address them all through a modern,media-driven campaign,which usually includes TV spots,print ads,hoardings and banners and audiovisual accompaniment to the traditional rally. In keeping with the mood of the times,the agency has been instructed to focus on the

issue of corruption and those that concern young people. On both these matters,Mayawati wants to snatch the initiative away from her political adversaries.

For a party that previously did not even bother with a manifesto,believing its appeal was self-evident,this carefully crafted media strategy suggests the BSP appreciates the need to address specific segments. After all,UP politics has changed,and there are other parties tailoring their message to the same sections. Now,more than ever,amid the flux in the state,the BSP needs to find its own distinctive core,and communicate this to potential voters. Engaging professionals is a step towards that new marketing. The strength and durability of the rainbow coalition,however,will be the big test of this election.