It may take a few weeks for the party to implement its plans but the message is clear for the BJP, which has so far enjoyed a lead in the field with a communication strategy in-sync with present times - the Congress is not far behind.
The coming weeks and months in politics will not just be a battle of performance but also a battle of perceptions created by the communication teams of India's two biggest political parties.
Even Ajay Maken, the relatively young MP from New Delhi, who has been given charge of this all powerful communication department in the Congress realises this challenge. "We realise that the common perception is not matched or equalled to the good work that has been done by the party and the government. We need to match the perception... bring up the level of perception to the level of good work done by the UPA government under the leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," Maken told Mail Today.
On its part, the BJP says it isn't worried. One of the top spokesperson of the BJP, Prakash Javadekar, said: "It is not a question of whether the BJP is more efficient in managing the media or how the Congress prepares its media strategy. The main issue in these elections is the widespread anger of the people against the UPA government. This is our main strength and it is the people's anger because of which the Congress will lose."
Maken's view on public perception is shared by several leaders in his Congress who feel that their voices and actions aren't getting enough public space, particularly at the height of mass protests in the last few months.
The protests exposed the big gap between the BJP and the Congress in social media presence. While the BJP leaders were leading from the front in attacking the government for its "lapses", there was no one from the Congress to present its side of the story.
The BJP, which has an early mover advantage on the social media front, has a formidable network of dedicated volunteers and staunch followers. Not surprisingly, among one of the first messages sent by Maken to the party's team of spokespersons and media panelists was the need for a change in mindset - look beyond print and electronic media.
The party spokespersons will now be aided by a fully activated research department that will supply them the vital backgrounders to make their arguments stronger. "We have to respond quickly and in a well researched way," Maken said.
As a part of this, a plan has already been drawn to ensure live streaming of AICC press conferences in Delhi to state party headquarters. It's an effort to cut down the party's response time. Besides, tech-savvy youth Congressmen will now be identified and engaged in the virtual world on party's behalf.
Within a fortnight of the organisational shake-up, there is already a talk that specific faces will be identified and shortlisted for their ease with different media platforms.
"We have been winning all these years because we've been good at the traditional communication modes like in gardens, tea stalls etc so there is no reason why we can't adopt to the new medium just as well," Maken said.
Aggression
In fact, this new phase of the perception battle has already begun with the party's communication chief suggesting that the BJP had already peaked "vis-a-vis its communication strategy and issues".
"They (BJP) are an aggressive Opposition party (but) unfortunately they don't know where to stop... and many times they get aggressive at the cost of key national interest, like wasting time in Parliament... which may be an effective way of communicating but bad for the national interest."
Source: http://to.ly/m5Nz
