Tamil Nadu: War rooms, consultants dominate poll work; instinct, groundwork take a back seat

CHENNAI: As Tamil Nadu heads towards the 2026 Assembly elections, political circles point to a rapidly expanding industry, working in the shadows, that now sits at the heart of campaign planning, from sharpening political strategy to digital outreach of not just parties but also individual leaders.

What once depended on the ground-level work of the cadre, district-level organisers, and instinctive leadership at the top has transformed into a highly professionalised outsourced ecosystem of consultants, data engineers and digital storytellers, all quietly shaping the State’s electoral battlefield.

“Tamil Nadu’s 2026 election is being engineered simultaneously in quiet data rooms and fast-moving digital spaces. The reports, reels and analytics are setting the narrative, and, ultimately, decide who walks into Fort St George next year,” one strategist for a major political party said.

At least eight big agencies, including Pramanya, Show Time and I-PAC, are currently advising key parties, including the ruling DMK and prominent opposition parties, on how to handle the polls. These firms have deployed nearly 1,100 personnel across the State. Around half are journalists roped in for their opinions, ground intelligence, and constituency-level networks, while the rest include retired bureaucrats, former judicial officers, and data analysts who work on surveys, caste mapping, and perception audits.

A senior strategist attached to a Dravidian party described it as a large-scale operation. “Every booth is now a spreadsheet. Every voter cluster is a model. No one wants to walk blind into 2026.” These teams conduct rolling surveys, door-to-door sentiment captures and telephonic verifications, supplying weekly trackers that increasingly influence candidate selection and messaging strategy.

Parallel to this data-driven machinery is a sprawling digital campaign network, arguably the more visible and volatile arena. Party IT cells and outsourced digital teams churn out short reels, micro-targeted posts, catchy infographics and hyperlocal WhatsApp campaigns designed to mould public opinion in real time. A single 20-second video can set off a narrative spiral, prompting rapid-fire counter-campaigns from rival war rooms.

“Today, narrative-setting is less about rallies and more about the first viral clip of the day. Whichever side frames the opening storyline typically controls the mood of the discourse,” a Chennai-based electoral strategist familiar with multiple Dravidian campaigns told DT Next.

Adding another layer to this election architecture is the trend of individual leaders hiring personal consultants, often unknown even to their party's high command. These micro-agencies conduct independent mood checks, evaluate local grievances and craft tailored image-building plans, all aimed at improving a leader’s bargaining power within the party.

The proliferation of consultants has drawn mixed reactions. Critics argue that this outsourced political apparatus risks diluting grassroots connections and replacing party instinct with algorithmic abstraction. Supporters counter that modern elections, saturated with information and rapid shifts in public mood, demand professional precision and constant feedback loops.