Ayush Jain

Learn

How Indian campaigns actually work, with the numbers behind them. Written for students, first-time candidates and anyone curious.

Careers in political consulting

Political consulting in India has grown from a handful of teams into a real profession, but it is still poorly explained. This is an honest guide for anyone thinking about it.

Research and data

Surveys, booth-level analysis and field intelligence. You find out what is actually happening in a seat before anyone decides what to do about it.

Learn first: spreadsheets, basic statistics, and how to read a result.

Field operations

Building and running the ground organisation: booth committees, volunteer networks, outreach programmes and polling-day plans.

Learn first: the local language, patience, and how party workers think.

Strategy

Turning research into decisions: which seats, which voters, which message. Usually a role people grow into after time in research or the field.

Learn first: how past campaigns in your state were won and lost.

Communications and digital

Messaging, speeches, content and social media that carry one consistent story, often in several languages at once.

Learn first: writing short, clear copy, and making it work on a phone.

War room

The central team that tracks the whole campaign day by day, spots problems early and moves resources to where they matter.

Learn first: organising information under pressure.

Policy and manifesto

Researching schemes and promises, costing them, and turning them into commitments that voters understand.

Learn first: how government budgets and welfare schemes work.

What nobody tells you

The work is seasonal and intense. You may spend months living in a district you'd never heard of, and much of what you do can never go on your CV because of confidentiality agreements with clients.

You will also work close to political power, so decide early where your own ethical lines are. Firms look for curiosity about politics without partisanship in the work, comfort with data, clear writing, and the stamina for long stretches away from home. Many hire through fellowship and associate programmes, often straight from college.

Try the work before you apply

  1. Read a seat

    Pick any seat in the votes-to-win calculator and write one page on how you would win it next time.

  2. Test a theory

    Use the swing simulator to find how small a swing would have changed the government in a state you know.

  3. Explain a result

    Choose a close result from the analysis page and explain in 300 words why you think it went the way it did. Publish it.