How BJP tried to turn 'missed calls' into votes for Narendra Modi

It was a simple enough strategy – you give a ‘missed call’ to a designated BJP number and party workers will get back to you and feed you details about Narendra Modi’s next rally, the manifesto and other things planned by the party. It would also give the caller a chance to get involved in party work if he/she so desired. The overwhelming response to the idea – the BJP IT cell received more than one crore missed calls – meant that the party could leverage the support into ensuring that their supporters would go out and vote as well. [caption id=“attachment_1518819” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A missed call for Modi. [/caption] One of BJP’s big problems in previous elections has been that their supporters have simply not come out to vote in large numbers. But this time, Modi’s party wanted to change all that. According to a report in The Times of India , on returning the call, BJP workers would request details like email IDs and addresses, along with voter IDs too. “The data processing, conceived by NetCORE’s Rajesh Jain, created an impressive base of voter IDs and mobile numbers that let BJP workers identify the specific polling booths where a voter was registered.” BJP sources told the Times of India that this particular strategy helped get in touch with voters and ensure that they would go out and cast their vote. It was direct marketing at its finest. The ‘missed calls’ strategy also helped the BJP understand what the voters were looking for in the coming elections. According to the article, some of the feedback even reached Modi – who used the material in some of his speeches. But most of all, the strategy allowed Modi and his team to bypass the ‘old’ creaky BJP machinery and speak to the new voter directly. In the final counting, this might be the difference between the BJP and the other parties. Read the complete report in The Times of India HERE