Cong expands base in Bihar, Bengal through youth brigade

With Bihar already into polls and West Bengal set to follow in a few months, a Youth Congress advertising campaign in which Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi urges the country’s youth to ‘be a leader and elect a leader’ (neta bano aur neta chuno), is helping the party make inroads.

The Congress, which is known more as a no-impact party in these two states — has found 1.8 million members in the last one year, riding on the membership drive of the Youth Congress. The campaign has touched 16 states, including more than 6.8 million members since its launch in 2009.

Even more remarkable than the numbers is the method used to promote the drive. Taking a cue from the corporate India, the Congress used print and radio advertisements to reach out to the Generation Next.

“Use of advertisements for membership is part of the strategy. Membership forms were published in newspapers, which we consider the vehicles of national awareness. This increases the access of the common youngster to the party,” said National Youth Congress president Rajiv Satav. Party honchos, operating at the national level constituted the team working for the drive in West Bengal and Bihar, and were responsible for customisation of advertisements to suit reader and listener palettes.

While in Bengal, visibility for the drive was ramped up before and during Gandhi’s visit through advertisements in English and vernacular dailies, the focus in Bihar was on radio, keeping a rural audience in mind.

“In Bengal, advertisements were used extensively highlighting key features of the process,” said Youth Congress general secretary Vijay Inderjit Singla, an MP from Sangrur, Punjab. 

Though a professional advertising agency was engaged, the party is tight-lipped about the name or budget. “Our vision was to ensure its implementation through a more professional project management route. Creatives for the campaign were devised and managed by the party leadership,” said Singla.

Advertisements for the drive, which have been implemented under the stewardship of All India Congress Committee general secretary Rahul Gandhi, also enchashed Gandhi’s popularity. Gandhi, seen as the party’s trump card and its most youth-friendly face, was the face of the campaign.

Political analysts also raised doubts over the effectiveness of the drive and the advertisements. “Gandhi’s membership drive will have no immediate impact. Caste and identity equation in Bihar will continue to play a role, irrespective of whether the Youth Congress has 1,000 or 10 lakh members,” said political analyst Sabyasachi Basu Ray Chaudhury.

The campaign is set to cover the rest of India in 2011. Whether the drive, treading the muddied waters of caste politics in the land of Lalu, Nitish and Paswan is able to pull ahead, will be the litmus test for the Congress scion.