Punjab 2017 polls already a battle of strategists

The political battle for next year’s Assembly polls in Punjab has now turned into a war of political strategists. Unlike the past when major political parties would start holding regular political rallies a year prior to elections, this time parties in Punjab are heeding the advice of strategists and learning the new rules of the game.

The Congress’ hiring of the poster-boy of political strategists, Prashant Kishor, who ran successful political campaigns for Mr Narendra Modi in the 2014 parliamentary election and then in Bihar for Mr Nitish Kumar, has changed the campaigning style of the Congress as well as other political parties in the state.

Already Mr Kishor has had meetings with state leaders in Chandigarh, and some of the old guard have even resented his strategy. Now Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has called a meeting of senior Congress leaders along with Prashant Kishor on March 12 to discuss election strategy and give it definite direction. As per Mr Kishor’s style, a Congress social media cell is already being set up in Punjab.

Shiromani Akali Dal vice-president Sukhbir Badal, known as a master strategist in his party, is also not living anything to chance and the Punjab Cabinet has cleared the hiring of an agency. The agency would conduct an impact assessment study of the various schemes and programs of the state government. The agency would conduct the assessment study from April to December 2016 by randomly reaching out to 4.5 lakh people personally and contacting 15 lakh people. The data collected would provide direction to the state government in bridging the gaps in programme and scheme implementation, besides helping it frame new schemes and policies for overall development of the state.

However, critics of the government’s move to hire an agency say that by the time the agency hired by the government submits its data and recommendations to “help new schemes and policies for overall development of the state”, the EC might have announced the elections and the model code of conduct would be implemented. Punjab goes to polls in February 2017.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which has made the Punjab battle a triangular contest, has a dedicated team headed by Durgesh Pathak who had designed the strategy for the Delhi election. The team has been active for more than six months reaching out to people at the booth level. The party has its grassroots organisational structure in place but not a state leader or CM candidate as yet.