Party war room boys sweat it out

Guwahati: The election offices of the state's major political players Congress, BJP and All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) are a hive of activity with back-room boys brainstorming poll strategies and churning out new ideas by the day. For Congress, three-term chief minister Tarun Gogoi is the all in all as far as election management is concerned, but it's former minister Pradyut Bordoloi who has been given the task of implementing Gogoi's plans on the ground. Insiders in the party said a publicity committee, headed by Bordoloi and his team, has been asked to conceptualize and execute an innovative and aggressive campaign against BJP this election and is sounding out new ideas and fine-tuning strategy almost on a daily basis. The result is a sharp poster campaign against BJP in various parts of the state.Smack on the busy Guwahati-Shillong road, a large building has been transformed by Congress into a hoarding display site. The ruling party has hit on the idea of using caricature-based posters and hoardings to outwit the publicity-savvy BJP. While last week saw a huge hoarding carrying images of JNU students' union leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Rohith Vemula to attack BJP for alleged suppression of free speech, this week's hoarding shows BJP president Sarbananda Sonowal bowing before Union finance minister Arun Jaitley with the tagline 'What rights of ours will be safeguarded by the leader who sacrificed our pride to Delhi?' completing the picture.The Congress would wish to win this war of wit for more reasons that one. Ironically, it's former Congress heavyweight Himanta Biswa Sarma who has transformed into BJP's most dependable back-room boy, drafting election strategy and anchoring developments. The role is one that Sarma is familiar with, having mastered election management during his days with Gogoi when he led the party to victory thrice. Sarma, who joined BJP in August last year after leading a prolonged dissidence against former mentor and chief minister Tarun Gogoi and convenes the saffron party's election management committee, also has the advantage of knowing Congress inside-out. He is assisted by BJP general secretary Phani Sharma.In AIUDF, it's billionaire perfume baron Badruddin Ajmal who has the last word on selection of candidates, planning of strategy and campaigning. Though assisted by a team of key leaders, including AIUDF vice president Maulana Abdul Kadir, general secretary Maulana Hafiz Bashir Quasimi, working president Aditya Langthasa and general secretary (organization) Aminul Islam, "it's Huzur (Ajmal) who gives the final touches," said an AIUDF leader.This election, however, Ajmal can also expect help from two master-planners, with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar and RJD chief Lalu Prasad expected to pitch in for AIUDF as its star campaigners.