11-06-25 – The Backstage of Democracy: India’s Election Campaigns and the People Who Manage Them with Amogh Dhar Sharma

Over the last decade, election campaigns in India have undergone a dramatic shift. Political parties increasingly rely on political consultants, spin-doctors, pollsters, and data-driven insights to mobilize voters. What is driving these changes? This talk explores the hidden arena of strategizing that takes place between politicians and a new cabal of political professionals as they organize election campaigns in India. It argues that the change in electioneering is not reducible to a story of technological innovations alone. Rather, it is indicative of a new landscape where ideas of political expertise, the distribution of power within parties, and citizens’ attitudes towards political participation have undergone a profound change.