So who is behind the Rs 5-ticket for Narendra Modi’s speech in Hyderabad that has sparked off a controversy with the Congress seizing the opportunity to slam the Gujarat Chief Minister’s “corporate” culture? E Newspaper of India has tracked down the mind behind the controversial decision. Sukanti Ghosh is the man whose team has been working for over a year to build Brand Modi.
Ghosh, Managing Director of India at APCO Worldwide, a US-based lobbying firm, has been given the task of turning Modi’s 7 Race Course Road dreams into a reality. An expert in devising public policy and strategising on public affairs in the US, Ghosh’s team has been working on “Operation Modi” from APCO’s US and Mumbai offices.
The Mumbai team includes 12 communications experts, who have a rich experience in devising media strategy for various clients in the US. For them, turning NaMo’s Prime Ministerial dreams into a reality is a “business strategy”, according to sources. For instance, the team keeps a close tab on how the “media market” responds to the slogans and phrases used by Modi in his public speeches. A feedback is duly given to the Gujarat CM on the same.
Sources said that Ghosh speaks to Modi for an hour every day. He supplies media dockets to Modi on a regular basis which explains various nuances of his media strategy. There is a different strategy for different situations. Ghosh had served Barclays Bank as its communications head before joining APCO.