"Neeraj" (a pseudonym), a young graduate in economics from one of India's premier engineering and technology education institutes, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), was given 15 minutes by Nation With Namo (NWN) during a job interview to solve the mathematical problem of how many tennis balls would fill a passenger airplane. NWN is one of the consulting organizations internally advising the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on various political issues in India. By providing the correct solution, Neeraj joined a small team composed of graduates from India’s top universities. This team was sent to the eastern state of Tripura in February to conduct surveys, collect, and analyze voter data for the elections.

Their task was to identify and demographically segment those not voting for BJP, based on factors like age, gender, caste, tribe, and religion. They then sought to address a common issue among these groups to strategize how to win their votes for the BJP. All of this was done under the supervision of the team.

Due to restrictions on speaking to the media, Neeraj used a pseudonym when talking to the Qatar-based news outlet Al Jazeera. He mentioned that those who go through the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) tend to be good at problem-solving. Admission to most of India's top public engineering, law, and management colleges requires passing an all-India exam. Millions of students take this entrance exam to get into one of the 23 IITs, but only 2-3% manage to secure a place. Neeraj is one of those few.

Recently, hundreds of graduates from India's top engineering and business schools have joined as workers in political campaigns. Typically, they take up these roles for a short period before securing good corporate jobs. Various political consulting agencies offer them temporary positions with attractive salaries. Hence, transitioning from graduating from IIT to becoming an election consultant?

People like Sundar Pichai, who became CEO of Google, and Parag Agrawal, who became CEO of X (formerly Twitter), or Indra Nooyi, who became CEO of PepsiCo after an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, are notable alumni. However, recruitment from campuses has decreased in recent years, especially as layoffs have increased in technology companies.

Graduates from institutions like the IITs possess the capability to analyze the vast voter data of a large country like India. National, regional, and independent candidates seek such analytically skilled personnel. The market for these services is estimated to be worth nearly 300 million U.S. dollars.

To attract these graduates, most political consulting firms offer fellowships with special benefits for a short duration. Ankit Lal, a computer engineer and director of the political consulting firm Politic Advisor in Delhi, mentioned that in some cases, the allure of being close to the power circle also attracts talent to this field.

What do they do?

Let's return to Neeraj's story. In February, Neeraj's NWN team was in Tripura, a small state in India, working in several tribal areas including Chabimura in the Amarpur constituency. These voters primarily supported other parties. Traveling to Chabimura from the state capital Agartala involves a long journey by road skirting hills and mountains and crossing the Gomati River by motorboat. Known as 'Tripura's Amazon,' this remote, rain-shrouded region has been home to the Jamatia tribe for centuries.

During their field survey in Chabimura, Neeraj's team identified a few influential Jamatia families who could sway the entire tribal voter base. Neeraj noted that they were quite poor and desired boundary walls around their homes.

A few days after he recommended the construction of these walls to the BJP state leadership, about 80 houses of the Jamatia tribe members were provided with four-foot-high earthen boundary walls. As an additional incentive, each household was given a pair of goats. These walls then served as canvases for party propaganda, with portraits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the state chief minister, and local candidates painted on them. However, the BJP spokesperson in Tripura did not respond to Al Jazeera's inquiries about these activities.

The report by Al Jazeera states that the BJP, which has been in power in the state for five years, could have built the walls at any time. However, in a country where 800 million people live on free or subsidized food, a pair of goats and a boundary wall can be life-changing amenities, enough to sway votes.

Another IIT graduate, who chose to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera that in politics, votes are the only currency. Every individual in the country has one vote, and all their activities aim to understand under what circumstances people cast these votes.

Bribing voters is a crime and a violation of electoral laws, which can lead to jail time or even annulment of the elections. However, when parties hire third parties to change voter opinions, these allegations become difficult to prove and are subject to investigation. In the Amarpur constituency, the BJP candidate narrowly defeated the competitor from the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Meanwhile, the national election in India commenced on April 19 and will last for 44 days. In the months leading up to it, consulting firms composed of lawyers, researchers, MBAs, and IIT graduates were busy devising strategies and focusing on what needs to be emphasized for their hired political parties’ campaigns. These rented teams also decided where gifts should be distributed, where to heat up the crowd with polarizing speeches, and where to spread fake news on social media to attract voters.

These young men, who work behind the scenes in Indian democracy and are not politically engaged beyond the financial benefits and the thrill of victory, call themselves "politically neutral problem solvers."

In conversation with Al Jazeera, they admitted that some of their activities aimed at gaining votes could be detrimental to democracy. However, they also stated that they are unbiased and solely focused on solving the problem.

Highly opaque and influential activities

Rajesh (pseudonym), another IIT engineer, leads a team of 12 consultants working for the Congress party. His life now revolves around data, both in his mind and on his office computer.

Hundreds of field associates scattered across the country send Rajesh and his team details including voters' preferred candidates and key issues. Some associates also stay glued to media and social networks to gauge the impact of every political statement, rally, roadshow, speech, and party manifesto.

Rajesh mentioned that 20-30% of the team's members are from IITs, and about 5% from IIMs. They all believe deeply in data, often chanting the mantra, "Data is king."

He explained that their focus is not where the party's majority is clear but rather on the swing or battleground seats.

A political strategist who worked on Narendra Modi's last two election campaigns said, "When elections come, we often talked about the need for polarization, because without it, we would be stuck."

The strategist revealed that the party (BJP) would ask RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) members to fire up the base with speeches like, "Again, they (Muslims) will dominate us. We must stop them, or crime will increase in society." The RSS is the ideological wing of the BJP, with nearly six hundred thousand members.

Pratik Sinha, co-founder of the fact-checking website AltNews, described political consulting as "highly opaque and influential activities" with no ethical basis. Political parties hire these firms for their fake news, misinformation, and online hate campaigns.

As elections approach, we see an increase in fake news and hateful posts on social media. Millions are spent on Facebook ads with proxy pages, misinformation, and hate speech, all orchestrated by political consultants.

According to the fact-checking website Boom Live, Muslims are often the primary targets of fake news in India.

Mohammad Irfan Basha, who runs a small political consulting firm named F-Jack in Hyderabad, noted that the more young voters there are in an electoral area, the easier it is to create religious divisions.

Young, cheap talent

The IITs and IIMs were established in the 1950s and 1960s with the aim of fostering a modern, self-sufficient, and industrially advanced nation. As India's economy has evolved, these institutions have also adapted, increasing in number, adding courses, encouraging innovation, and establishing start-up incubation centers.

IIT engineers usually find jobs easily. However, there is less demand for chemical, mechanical, aeronautical, mining, and metallurgical engineers.

In India, the unemployment rate for college graduates is nine times higher than that for uneducated youth. In this dismal job market, professional, corporate-style political consulting firms began recruiting directly from IITs and other campuses about five to six years ago.

A member of the Congress party's campaign team, speaking on condition of anonymity, described these recruits as "young, cheap talent." They are excited, and we are obtaining very diligent young people with fresh minds.

The firms do not look for specific degrees but seek individuals who are knowledgeable in technology, have mathematical skills, understand or can learn coding, are good at solving problems, and can hit targets. Most MBAs are hired to analyze data, set methodologies and processes, manage teams, allocate resources, and present to politicians. IIT engineers manage technology, gather data, and conduct analyses.

Confidentiality

Political strategist Abhimanyu Bharati says that the two mantras for winning elections are—discernment and tracking. He explains that tracking allows for immediate feedback and rectification of mistakes. The leader or party that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins, making it crucial to correct errors quickly.

To gain votes in politics, parties must carefully select candidates, plan campaigns, highlight slogans and party activities, attack opponents, and decide who to meet, where to visit temples, and where and when to dine with Dalit families—all based on the advice of consulting firms. As the election day approaches, the workload of these firms increases, and their focus intensifies on the electoral field.

Neeraj says that employees are deployed in the field not only to gather voter information but also to report all activities of their own and opposition leaders, to identify who is dissatisfied and who can be "bought." This work is so secretive that one begins to lose their identity.

In the process, he has had to identify himself as a tourist, journalist, or researcher at different times. Most political consulting firms in India operate secretly. Employees must sign NDAs, and their salaries often come from various sources. Field staff's phones and leaders' cars are tracked via GPS, and the firms' tech teams monitor these.

Al Jazeera has spoken with everyone involved. They report working 14-16 hours a day, which disrupts their family lives. The intense mental stress and fatigue they undergo are all for the sake of victory.

Neeraj recalls a negative experience from a meeting with the state president of the BJP in Tripura. He reveals that based on field-level reports, NWN suggested creating disturbances to attract media attention.

Neeraj comments that political leaders love votes more than life itself. Following their advice, the party leader immediately proposed sending a few BJP workers to post banners in areas dominated by rival parties. The leader said, "They will beat up our workers. Then we can [give a statement to] the media."

Neeraj received a call suddenly informing him that one of the party workers had been killed. Looking at us, he smiled slightly and said, "Brother, we've got our issue."

Attempts to discuss this matter with the BJP spokesperson in Tripura were made, but the spokesperson declined to comment.