MUMBAI: Soon after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement that he isn’t in the race for the 2014 Lok Sabha election, the Congress party seems to be going for an overhaul. Reportedly, the national party has brought on board Dentsu India, the Japanese advertising and public relations company (along with JWT) that will be working on a massive campaign around the party’s vice-president Rahul Gandhi.
However, Dentsu isn’t talking about the association as of yet. “No comments on Congress,” is what Dentsu India executive chairman Rohit Ohri who is holidaying in Koh Samui, Thailand said.
But the idea is to build up the image of Gandhi before the election. And it seems the process has already begun. The homepage of the website of Indian National Congress shows Rahul Gandhi in the most positive light. The side panel on the website has stories just of Rahul Gandhi addressing people at different times. All his speeches that have made news till now also feature in the panel.
Few of the highlights are: “An India In Which No One Is A Minority: Rahul Gandhi”; a video of Rahul Gandhi talking to the media in Delhi about combating corruption and tackling inflation; and also a report published in The Telegraph that talks about Rahul Gandhi already taking over the charge of the Indian National Congress. It says, “The new website the Congress launched a few days ago reflects the changes in the party, both in its content and approach, and provides evidence of Rahul Gandhi’s supremacy despite Sonia Gandhi still heading the hierarchy.”
Besides, the Gandhi scion is the most highlighted person on the site’s homepage. The mention of everyone else who have contributed to the development of the Party is in different sections of the site.
So, is it a beginning of announcing him as a PM candidate?