We have opted for an emotional route for Congress campaign in UP: Raj Babbar

With a vision to emerge victorious in the upcoming Assembly Elections to be held early next year, the Congress party is leaving no stone unturned. It has launched an aggressive campaign that speaks the language of the locals. With 'Utho, jago aur badlo' (rise, awaken and change) as the party tagline for the impending elections in Uttar Pradesh, the party conveys the message that unless one wakes up and votes for development, one will never change his destiny.

Hoardings shouting 'Jawab Hum Denge' (We will give a befitting reply) have been plastered across Allahabad, where the Gandhi scion held his first rally. Gandhi kickstarted Congress' campaign for the Assembly Elections from Phulpur in Uttar Pradesh. The date and the location have a strategic importance as the launch coincided with Jawaharlal Nehru's birthday on November 14. Moreover, Phulpur was the constituency from where Nehru was elected to the Parliament in the first Lok Sabha Elections.

"We wanted to come up with a campaign that questions the governance in the region and ask for change. It is more an emotional campaign, than an aggressive one," says Raj Babbar, Congress leader.

The posters have Rahul Gandhi's face placed prominently in the forefront, with Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the background.

The first set of print ads appeared in the national newspapers on November 12. This print campaign emphasised on the 'appalling' facts of questionable performance of the non-Congress governments in the state.

"The launch campaign for the state of Uttar Pradesh has been worked upon by Percept/H. But, in the future, Crayons and JWT India will also be involved in the campaign for the other media, and the other states going to the poll next year, the decision for which is yet to be taken," says Babbar.

"Who does not want change?" questions Harindra Singh, vice-chairperson and managing director, Percept/H. Percept has worked on the first leg of the campaign for the Assembly Elections.

He adds that Percept/H's ability to understand what is happening in Uttar Pradesh has helped gain the opportunity to work on the campaign. "Also, we have worked successfully with the party for the Assembly Elections in 2009, and have been associated with the national ruling party for various election campaigns."

He further adds that the whole approach adopted for the campaign is aggressive and only a young person like Gandhi can do justice to the words used in the campaign. "The campaign speaks the language of the people in UP. Hence, it will connect with the voters in the region," adds Singh.

Interestingly, unlike the other Congress campaigns that speak about the Aam Aadmi or common man, this one has a special focus on the Gandhi heir. "It is not a normal political campaign; it is a challenging campaign," says Amitava Mitra, chief operating officer, Percept/ H, who has been closely associated with the campaign.

Congress has been out of power in Uttar Pradesh since 1989. But, Mitra feels that the current picture shows that the party is suddenly making an impact in UP. The creatives for the Congress' launch campaign have been designed under the guidance of Rajiv Agarwal, executive creative director, Percept/ H.

Currently, presentations are going on for the Uttarakhand campaign.