LUCKNOW: UK-based
Cambridge Analytica (CA), in the thick of
Facebook data theft controversy, had made a 50-page proposal for Congress for the 2019 Lok Sabha poll as well as its campaign in Karnataka, Chhattishgarh and
Madhya Pradesh assembly elections later this year.
The proposal has been reportedly made after a study of performance of both Congress and BJP in the 2017 UP polls in which the saffron party-led alliance won 325 out of 403 seats. “This proposal sets out how CA will give the INC an equivalent level of operational and technological support in the bid to win the 2019 Lok Sabha, and the three crucial state elections which will precede,” says the first section of the proposal, titled ‘Introduction’, that has 10 pages.
TOI has accessed the copy of the Rs 2.5-crore proposal as Congress categorically denies that any financial transaction ever took place between CA and party. “Hordes of firm have approached us with proposals on campaigns in the past 15 years and continue to do that. This firm (CA) may have met someone in Congress and submitted a proposal but there was not even a single transaction between this firm and us ever,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told TOI.
“Congress is a big national party and receives so many proposals, but it never hired the services of CA. There has been no relationship or understanding with Cambridge Analytica,” the party’s in-charge of data analytics department,
Praveen Chakravarthy, was quoted by PTI as saying. The introduction section in the proposal has two large photographs of Congress president
Rahul Gandhi and PM
Narendra Modi, with two sub-sections — “Reversal of fortune” in the 2014 Lok Sabha poll and “Regaining the initiative”.
It dwells upon why Congress lost the plot in 2014, citing reasons such as “Indian National Congress suffered significant reputational damage. Repeated allegations of corruption, disunity and structure persists”.
It praises BJP’s ability to use digital and social media components in 2014, saying final 18 months of 2014 campaign were primarily datadriven and focused on extensive and tactical digital marketing and that continue till 2017 UP polls.
The proposal talks about access to national voter file, party membership database to understand where gaps exist as well as identify 3rd party data to segment and model voter base.