Lok Sabha elections 2019: IIT, IIM grads of IPAC power YSRC war room for high octane election campaign

HYDERABAD: IIT and IIM graduates of Indian Political Action Committee joined by dedicated social media wing workers of YSR Congress are the new generals of war room of YSRC battling with the narratives of rival Telugu Desam Party and coming up with counter-narratives.
Tracking rallies of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, scrolling through thousands of social media posts, collecting intelligence from the ground, giving inputs to the MLA and MP candidates on a real-time basis is being done at the War Room of YSR Congress.
TOI on Sunday had a closer look at how the YSR Congress war room is operating in Lotus Pond working 24 hours as the clock is ticking in the run-up for Andhra Pradesh general elections 2019 to be held on April 11.
The strategists and experts sitting in war room from both party and I-PAC communicate with 5.5 lakh booth level workers on a daily basis giving those inputs. Andhra Pradesh has been divided into four zones from Srikakulam to Chittoor for continuous updates of the turn of political events on the ground and coming up with the solutions. When compared to the 2014 election campaign of YSR Congress the current run-up for election is more organized after YS Jagan Mohan Reddy engaged the services of I-PAC founded by Prashant Kishor.
YSRC chief could able to reach at least 60,000 neutral voters addressing them personally with letters.
Rishi Raj Singh co-founder and director of I-PAC in the war room told TOI, “For the past two years, the party and the leader have worked hard to strengthen the grass-roots presence and connect with the people. Active booth committees have been appointed at every booth, with one convener and 10 workers, to make sure that the reach of the party is comprehensive. Ipac has supported and coordinated in this process wherever required, but the credit goes to the leader and the party. Over the last two years, YSRCP has been ahead of TDP on all fronts - Campaigns on the ground, online campaigns, cadre strength, and morale.”
At least 300 personnel are working on the ground and in the war room. This is apart from the YSRC Media Cell monitoring and continuous assessment of the situation.
He added, “In addition to the above-mentioned things, extensive public outreach campaigns were launched, such as YSR Kutumbham, Praja Sankalpa Yatra, Jagan Anna Pilupu, Samara Shankaravam, Anna Kanuka, Ravali Jagan Kavali Jagan, etc. These campaigns allowed the cadre to have multiple interactions with every household of Andhra Pradesh. There are a positive atmosphere and momentum around Jagan Mohan Reddy and the YSRCP.”
Samara Shankaravam was designed to address the booth level workers. In the Ninnu Nammam Babu campaign, YSRC strategists tried to drive a message that people have no confidence in Naidu’s government.