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Triumph: How Ground Zero Mastered Maharashtra’s Political Strategy

The resurgence of the Indian National Congress (INC) in Maharashtra during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is a compelling case study in effective political strategy and execution. The party's impressive performance, winning 13 out of 17 contested seats, marks a significant turnaround from the 2019 elections, where Congress faced significant defeats in constituencies like Latur, Kolhapur, and Solapur, losing substantially. Recognizing the need for a strategic overhaul in light of strong anti-incumbency sentiments against the BJP, Congress leaders in Maharashtra sought professional assistance.

Political consulting firms have paved the path to success for politicians and have become an integral part of Indian politics. Ground Zero political consulting worked in six Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, helping their candidates secure victories in all of them. The organization’s success story is quite interesting as they were working on seats considered safe for the BJP.

"Politics is a never-ending learning process. I have seen that politicians in Maharashtra have updated themselves and understand the importance of political consultancy and its services. They have realized how important it is to manage election campaigns systematically and implement targeted campaigns. Political consulting represents the new politics of India," said SauvikSaha, a project lead at Ground Zero.

The fight for the Amravati Lok Sabha seat was intense. INC candidate BalwantWankhade won the election with 19,731 votes. SuhelPratap Singh and the team at Ground Zero stated, "Our battle was against one of the strongest leaders of the BJP, who won the previous election with INC's support. This time, INC fought the election independently for the first time in 25 years. It was important to identify and mobilize the INC vote base and capitalize on the anti-incumbency of the sitting MP."
Ground Zero's approach began with comprehensive research and analysis across constituencies, including booth-level scrutiny, caste dynamics, campaign design, and voter issues. This data was compiled into a detailed parliamentary report, forming the backbone of the campaign strategy. The Ground Zero team remarked, "Maharashtra politics has always been interesting. Before we started our campaign in six seats across Maharashtra, we knew the campaign wouldn't be easy. Our fight was against India's most popular face and best marketing agency, PM Modi and BJP.

In the first week of our on-ground survey, we knew that the BJP was facing high anti-incumbency, and INC and other independent candidates had scope to capitalize on this and win maximum seats. All six seats—Chandrapur, Amravati, Kolhapur, Solapur, Latur, Sangli—were difficult to win against the BJP, but with the support of candidates and proper ground intelligence, we paved our way to success."

Ritwick Shrivastav, an NLU graduate and co-founder of Ground Zero, stated, “A strong team is the key. We have teammates from different spectrums. ManojBhosale and AjinkyaPawar, TISS graduates, crafted precise campaign messages and narratives that resonated with diverse communities. We have teammates like Aishwarya, SauvikSaha, and KritiDhara who have successfully led campaigns in the past as well."

Event management was another area where Ground Zero excelled. Their efforts ranged from nomination rallies to youth conclaves, all designed to maximize voter engagement. Training volunteers on outreach strategies, booth management, and countering the BJP's narratives were integral parts of the campaign.

Solapur is a Lok Sabha seat of former CM SushilkumarShinde, but in 2014 and 2019 he lost the election. In 2024, INC fielded his daughter PranitiShinde, who was an MLA from Solapur City Center. PranitiShinde won the election by 74,197 votes. Aishwarya Pandey and his team shared their experience, saying, "The BJP MP was facing high anti-incumbency, hence BJP changed its candidate and fielded Malshiras MLA Ram Satpute. PranitiShinde's image, extensive issue-based campaign, and daily escalation led us to success."

Shashi Shankar Singh, the founder of Ground Zero, shared his view on Maharashtra politics and his work: "I have always believed that politics can only be done from ground zero. We focused on strengthening the booth and booth management. Maharashtra politics is quite interesting—people are aware, and they choose their leaders very wisely. The people of Maharashtra have clearly stated that they will change their leader if you don't deliver on your promises. We met a lot of people who were upset with the disintegration of the SHS and NCP."

Booths were categorized into safe, favourable, battleground, and difficult, with specific strategies to ensure high voter turnout and support. The goal was to achieve a 75% turnout and secure 75% of votes in favourable booths. Legal compliance and adherence to the Moral Code of Conduct were diligently maintained, ensuring the campaign's ethical standing, shared RitwickShrivastav.

As a result of these efforts, the seats managed by the Ground Zero team experienced a dramatic transformation. This complete overhaul of INC's fortunes in Maharashtra has taken political pundits by surprise, as no one anticipated such a significant shift. Political consulting firms are giving new definitions to electioneering and management and Ground Zero has cracked the core politics of Maharashtra, established that with a perfect team, better booth management, targeted campaign implementation, and solid ground intelligence, it is possible to win the toughest of elections.