speaking I'm a person who loves the
rough-and-tumble world of politics I
live in it I live a part of that the
communication handled and I'm going to
talk today ladies and gentlemen about
the changing faces of Indian elections
all of us love politics here in one way
or another and Indian politics is far
more interesting than the dull and
dreary UK or US elections so when we
talk of for the changing facets of India
let's remember that we are a democracy
we should be proud of it that we have a
choice to elect a government that we
deserve
unlike the dictators who decide that
they will rule for life but what is
politics politics is the art of the
possible any politician if you tell him
that something cannot be done
he will ensure that it is done that is
the art of it and they live in it and as
you see and as they grow in terms of
politics and they will grow from the
bottom these politicians tend to acquire
an art that of the kiss of the gap so
what are we talking about I think my
slide is start it's not moving can you
move this light please election that
what you make of it and that is the art
of possibilities and that is very
important because when you actually talk
of making it possible a lot of factors
come into play the politics is all about
getting to power end of the day a
politician wants power because we
thought that it was like a duck of the
water and that is for sure
we'll make him extremely weak and
looking extremely dark India loves
tweeting then this picture was tweeted
by one of the famous Twitter handles
Galaga and here Twitter India loves
these three things movies cricket and
politics not necessarily that order but
somewhere in that order
why any discussion that we have any
discussion across the table and sitting
with a family sitting with a friend will
revolve around these three things we
talk about Bollywood or the Tollywood or
whatever it does we talk about cricket
we have a habit of telling mindless
things only how to finish the innings
and we also know what politics and we
tell politicians how to win election we
are experts around chair experts and
telling on these three things
but rumba elections in India is a one
big festival
it's like a big jamila it is like a
wedding an Indian big fat in degrading
there is noise there's music there is
everything that is on there and that is
what makes the entire thing all about
fun go back and look at the u.s.
election or the British you look very
very serious the Indian election is all
about fun you Israelis meetings
discussions PV panel shows you name it
and we have it but rumba this all leads
up to one thing every election has a
winner and a loser
unfortunately like any other game you
have somebody wins and somebody loses
and maybe a few years later somebody the
same person might lose another person
may win but that is what this fun is all
about because we are you coming to is to
take you as to how this happens how does
one win and how does one lose not just
in life ladies and gentlemen but also in
politics and that's important because
who will decide what the outcome will be
that's very important sitting in this
room are many youngsters who possibly
would have voted or will vote for the
first time India has about something
like 80 crore for turns 80 through plus
voters who decided the fortunes of this
kind
it's huge it's humongous but how do you
decide how do you decide what to do it's
the water the water decides who will win
and who will lose and as we saw as I'm
taking you through a transition from
2014 to 2019 how the election scenario
is changed the face of Indian politics
that's what my anti crux of this debate
is how does it go to make a decision
this is a short I had taken when I was
in Varanasi in 2014 when a voter is
looking at the slips to see if his name
is there and the first step of the
process of deciding to vote now that is
a decision that he or she will have to
take providing his or her name is there
and that's the first step in election
but politicians and political parties
how do they reach out to the last water
room of the most remote this village the
last water is a crucial person because
he or she is often taken for granted and
definitely that is where the entire
issue is all about it's all about
communication my favourite my subject
which are available because end of the
day when you talk of communication in
any field for that matter be it in the
field which you are right now in your
college and when you pass out you get a
job if you can communicate and in
politics - you get a job if you can
communicate but that's easier said than
done how does one communicate how does
one communicate to 80 crore waters
traditionally we had these elections are
all about Street Khanna meetings we had
rallies public meetings and all that but
there has been a perceptible change
something changed in the run-up to the
2014 Lok Sabha elections what is that
something that's what we will look
through in the next few minutes that we
have what is it that change the face of
Indian elections from 2014 to 2019 how
is in get changed forum and that's what
it's all about
it's with the advent of digital and
social media in a country that is so
huge in humongous right from Kanyakumari
to Kashmir and from Gujarat to the other
end of the east and makalah and money
poor and Asama
how do us one reach each and every
person who has the right to work it's
physically impossible to do that and the
only way to reach them is through the
humble mobile phone and that's what we
are doing today and that's what India is
doing and definitely TV bands to videos
whatsapp to Facebook Twitter we have it
all today look at the last election and
this election the number of messages
that you have got on your phone the
number of videos we have got on your
phone would have been super high why
because the targeting of the voters is
not happening you are not realizing that
the political parties are actually
having a data base about you what your
name is whatever age is where you stay
what you do where do you work
what is your political preference I
myself have seen data that have been
mined for lakhs and lakhs of people they
then put that all together and say this
person needs to be targeted this way and
this is the right message to go to that
person
Roopa at the end of the day India has
about four growth Twitter users that's
one in 2020 for phase ready for pro
Facebook users that's one in four voters
now gets more interesting 40 crore Watts
abuses that is one in three voters and
forty one crore it is actually going up
to forty three now that is one in every
two voters where in the world would you
achieve this kind of propensity you can
hit the message provided you tailor it
accordingly and that's very very
important India spent humongous sixty
thousand crores the six-week long
campaign that we saw in the 2019 and
look at what you can spend 300 crores
and what would you spend 40,000 clothes
in India the number is actually 1 lakh
crore because even more than that
because num the amount of money that we
spend sometimes is not accounted for
most of this is below the line campaign
that politicians don't speak about every
loss of our constituency 42 swiftly
closes spending on the campaign but each
candidate that is the national
candidates but how do the social media
spends look like India's friends and the
numbers are there I really don't want to
read it out but end of it if you look at
us and compare with India India is still
at the lower end of it why we might ask
we spend a lot more but we spend a lot
less in social media because there is a
rule that a candidate can spend only so
much so the parties want to be very very
careful and where they spend and how
they spend because I am coming to the
crux of it this is what it was all
coming down to elections are all about
telling good stories Robbo now go back
and listen to the stories of the
politicians O'Meara's it - and why you
voted because there is a teller and
there's a believable story I did this
for you and that is why you need to vote
for me that's a story that comes across
because when it tell us speech he
becomes a winner because why does he
become a winner because he or she has a
better story to tell our grandmother's
used to tell us lovely stories but put
us to sleep in the mind and each day the
eighth-largest story is to be different
and for a politician the extra Raja
story also is different each time it is
like presenting a report card on what
you do and that is very very important
ladies and gentlemen because how do you
know what story to tell it is your
report card of what you promised and
what you've delivered because as Indians
we should remember this fact that why
are we in this digital advantage because
today telling a story of a successful
campaign is what changed 2014 to 2019
all political pundits got the 29
reading wrong as much as they got the
2014 campaign wrong because none of them
listened to the communication that was
coming targeted communication going to
each and every person in different modes
mostly digital and that is what we
should be understanding how is it that
we are now being subjected to a barrage
of information that's coming to us and
that ladies and gentlemen is very very
important because next time when you
receive a message you might really get
angry they might get upset that you're
getting this constant calls on your
phone but roba it is all about targeting
you because communication is about how
you deliver a message what you deliver
and where you deliver it and I think the
medication professional I can tell you
that's extremely important today's odors
are different from what we had 40 years
ago 20 years ago even ten years ago the
number of youngsters in the 18-plus
bracket India's 35 and below population
is 65 percent that's huge and that is
what the politicians want to target the
young audience sitting in this room is
an example of that how do i target that
audience and get that right so comes the
question what is next so this is a
matter of extensive debate on news
channels and newspapers and all what
will happen in 2024 we saw what happened
how 2014 started in a very very basic
premised way with the use of digital
media it improvised by using different
digital media social media and reaching
out to the audience now comes the
question what will happen in 2024 I am
in order crystal gazing specialist but
having worked in this field for quite a
long time
advising politicians advising parties on
how to do their campaigns I can tell you
fragmentation is going to be the major
thing you're now going to fragment the
audience further we have your entire
data base we know where you're born
where you move to
what your preferences are in drinking
coffee or a tea or what do you eat all
these databases with us we source it
from different places so next time you
go to an eatery and order something
wrong but if you give your mobile number
your track from there and we get that
information so we know what you love to
do and definitely we will tailor that
communication accordingly which is why a
50 year old youngster could not win an
election where a 69 plus gentleman could
still win it appealing to youngsters
today's audience is a different ballgame
because in my take when you talk to
people you only give them a believable
story you need to give them a progress
start as much as telling I promised you
this and I delivered this so give me
another chance
because politics as I said before is the
art of the possible
everything is possible provided we
communicate effectively and that ladies
and gentlemen is a not that where if you
have learned very few have polished and
where if you have achieved and going
forward if you ask me what next I would
say wait for 2024 you will be surprised
[Applause]