Congress gains ground with Rahul's drive

With Bihar already into polls and West Bengal set to follow in a few months, a Youth Congress advertising campaign in which the Gandhi scion 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 18 lakh members in the last one year, riding on the Youth Congress’ membership drive.

The campaign has touched 16 states, registering more than 68 lakh members since its launch in 2009.

Even more remarkable than the numbers is the method used to promote the drive.

Taking a cue from 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 Rahul Gandhi’s visit through advertisements in English and vernacular dailies, the focus in Bihar was on radio, keeping the rural audience in mind.

The campaign functioned on the buzzword of democracy within the party. The advertisement slogan was “Neta bano, neta chuno” (Be the leader, choose the leader), with Gandhi as its poster boy.

“In Bengal, advertisements were used extensively highlighting key features of the process,” said Youth Congress general secretary Vijay Inderjit Singla, who is a member of Parliament (MP) from Punjab’s Sangraur.

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 more professional project management route. Creatives for the campaign were devised and managed by the party leadership,” said Singla.

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

“The vision of democratising the party is Rahul Gandhi’s initiative. He wants the youth to join politics, eliminating corrupt practices. This, we believe, can be done through the removal of blockade to youth participation. We hope the youth will follow his vision,” said Singla.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), which claims to be one of the biggest youth movements in Asia with 17 million members, has termed the hiring of an advertisement agency as jingoism which will ‘depoliticise’ the youth.

“It is shameful that they have hired professional agencies for this campaign. Politics is not something which management gurus should manage. We need people who are ready to understand the real issues which the younger age group is facing," said P Sreeramakrishnan, DYFI national President.

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.