Eye on 2026 West Begal polls, CPM posts advertisement to hire strategists
Times of India | 23 November 2024
12 KOLKATA: CPM is hiring political strategists to manage campaigns in Bengal, keeping the 2026 assembly polls in mind. On Friday, the party came out with an advertisement on Facebook seeking to hire political analysts, content writers, graphic designers and digital marketing executives.
Posting the advertisement on Facebook, party's state secretary Md Salim said: "Join our robust team to help transform Bengal."
According to CPM insiders, the decision to hire professionals to produce digital content and work out campaign strategies was discussed at the last state committee meeting. A team of party members and political strategists has already been acting on the party's social media presence since the 2021 assembly polls. However, the party felt that depending on traditional modes of campaign on social media was not enough to catch eyeballs of the younger population.
"We used social media volunteers to reach out to people during the Covid days. But we will need creativity-infused and technology-driven teams skilled in working with data. They will also carry out research at the ground level and create actionable data sets," Salim said. The party has also been carrying out research in a number of areas like agriculture, industry and rural economy through the Jyotibasu Centre for Social Studies and Research.
MaharashtraJharkhandMaharashtraAlliance ViewiParty ViewSeats: 288L + WMajority: 145BJP+0MVA0OTH0Leads + Wins: 0/288 JharkhandAlliance ViewiParty ViewSeats: 81L + WMajority: 41INDIA0NDA0OTH0Leads + Wins: 0/81 Source: PValueOver decades, CPM has depended heavily upon its organisation and cadre for its campaign strategies. The party mouthpiece, ‘Ganashakti' has been used since 1967 to convey the party's voice to the masses. Even 15 years ago, Ganashakti had a strong impact on Bengal's political narrative. However, a change in the news consumption pattern and reversal of the political fortune of the party in Bengal continued to lessen its importance.
"Unlike other mainstream parties, we cannot afford to engage a private company for campaigns and strategies. Moreover, unlike BJP or TMC, we are not outsourcing the political process to private organisations," Salim said. "Think of this as a toolkit. This will add to the accuracy of the campaign and help us disseminate information to the target audience in a more effective way," he said.