Election consultancy becoming a permanent feature of Indian election as the country has witnessed a positive impact of campaigning by these professionals. The clandestine nature of such firms makes it difficult to ascertain the exact moment of origin of this industry in India but it seems that this industry got its recognition for first time in 1930s in the United States. These political consultancy firms have gained a considerable popularity in public discourse. After working discreetly for a considerable amount of time, these firms have emerged from nothing to stake a claim as legitimate actors in the domain of electoral politics. The political consulting industry in India is believed to be of worth more than 40 million USD. Now, more than hundred such political consultancy firms are working in the country.
The political consultancy industry is going to have a huge worth in the near future because of the swings recorded in election results in the last decade. And the opportunity for political consultants is increasing exponentially because a little swing in vote percentage may cost a candidate their electability.
For example: In the last assembly election in Gujrat, 16 Congress candidates lost by a margin of less than 3000 votes, so with a good campaign having an outstanding outreach to connect with public or with a nice door to door campaign, the result on these seats can be changed. And hence, even the government formed might be different. Political consultants collect data like poll-booth data, how the constituency has recorded a vote swing in the past and what are the basic necessities and requirements of the people living there (like 24hour electricity, drinking water and water for irrigation, jobs, etc.) and then design a campaign and advise the politician and party workers to implement the same.
Political consultants came into sight after the 2009 assembly election of Orissa and now they’ve established their foot in the mainstream politics. Data suggests that political consultants can change the voting percentage by 5-6 percent in favour of the candidate they are campaigning for.
These consultancy agencies are trusted allies of the political parties hiring them because massive amount of money is being disposed in an election and hiring a political consultant is very unlikely to cost them an unsurmountable amount of money. On the contrary, it may even produce greater efficiency in the use of financial resources, given the more professional mode of these consultants.
