Survive from a lack of strategy - importance of Prashant Kumar

A war is not essentially own by the number of soldiers, rather more by the war strategy, as Julias Caeser, Napoleon or even our home-grown Rana Pratap has shown. Caeser defeated General Pompey representing the forces sent by the Rome senate at the banks of Rubicon, with almost half the forces and that was the first time the world witnessed a new tactics called the flank attack which Caeser did with his cavalry. Napoleon was said to neutralize at least 10000 of force difference with his mere presence, as told by the Duke of Wellington. He used to change tactics by sending orders through the colour coded semaphores by the combination of flags. The question of having the reserve forces for the later intrusions from flanks was also a great strategy attributed to him. Rana Pratap, with meager resources, used all kind of strategies of guerilla wars on hilly terrains using height advantages will be remembered, a later day version of the famous resistance given by the 300-strong Leonidas army of Spartans against the Persian King Xerxes using the “Choke-point” strategy.

 

Goebbels, quite relevant to this discussion, had shown that information or disinformation propaganda has a tremendous effect on a war where public psyche is involved.  Compare India@2016 where the media is still controlled by the Congress and leftists in some way or the other so much, that even small issues are successfully targeted against the Modi Government, despite the paradigm shift in the level , transparency and result of the governance, suppressing the major success stories. BJP is failing miserably in the propaganda section. 

There are many famous and infamous strategies and operational tactics which were successfully used in the world, like containment, enemy prioritization, attack strength, attack weakness, battle readiness, circular attack, ruthless change, synergic/strategic alliance, bluff the dough, behind the enemy, patience & time, cut supply-line, burn soil, bllitzkreig, oblique attack, envelopment, carpet bombing, bull horn, human wave, force concentration etc. - at least 20 deserve elaboration but this is not the right place. Let’s come to our point.

 

Prashant Kumar has successfully demonstrated that even an election war falls into the category of any war, in a true sense. He essentially mixed  Information Analytics & Strategic management as the winning formula. He has a team of nearly 200 guys, who divide all the assembly segments, upto the booth level among themselves and analyse the trends and the characteristics, before analysing the possible scenarios by simulation, based on certain possible strategic actions. For each factor/parameter, the gain/loss / side effects were simulated and analysed. Then the overall strategic plan, with the target segments are created. The game is of IIM standard. He brought real professionalism in election management for the first time in India.  E.g. “Chai pe Charcha” concept had a tremendous positive effect on the electorate before Loksabha polls 2014. The image management area was brilliantly handled. There were several other tactics, like “Pappu” campaign is worth mentioning for their tactical brilliance. This kind of micro-management provides a huge benefit in the closely contested seats which is one of the most crucial areas of electoral war. It was evident that Modi, rather BJP per se, had secured a part of the muslim votes even, like in UP, where it managed to secure 71 seats out of 90.

He used an essentially different strategy in the Bihar election which was basically fractious and more complicated in a narrower range. His synergistic alliance, an idea laughed off by Nitish and Laloo both at the beginning, ultimately saved the day for their political survival. Getting Congress for a peanuts in the fold was another masterstroke. 

What BJP is doing is essentially banking on the charisma and strategic dogma and perspective of a few leaders, not fascist, but authoritarian definitely. While they have delivered in a certain way in some fields, the importance of the right arms cannot be wished away. I am not necessarily advocating the use of PK or any other strategist agency, but for a potential force, even more than the use of it - it is even more strategic to deprive the enemy of it's use. The first thing BJP should be clear in its own backyard is on the policies of Strategic cells and Media cells. But will they listen ? 

P.S. - Any strategist, including PK, is not a magician and strategy has no relations with Hogwarts. Strategy only helps to get the best out of any situation, no more, no less.