Himanshu Meena IIM Bangalore student with Congress

Aware that one can't get more off the beaten track of investment banking firms and FMCG giants for summer placements, IIM Bangalore student Himanshu Meena will spend the summer of 2011 with the Grand Old Party of India — the Congress.
    An internship is mandatory in the post-graduate programme at the IIMs and November is the month when companies come calling at campuses for summer placements, as they are popularly known because the internships take place in April-May. However, seven students from the IIM-B decided to go for internships by themselves. Himanshu is one of them. Himanshu plans to establish a political strategy firm, which will act as a consultancy for political parties in campaign management, market research and other related areas. This internship is to get a first-hand experience in politics.
    "I observed campaign strategies during the American presidential election. A friend's family is into politics here. It's such an unorganized sector in India and a lot of work needs to be done. India is more than a billion people; it's not easy to manage them. I realized there is scope and wanted to get a feel of what's actually happening,'' said Himanshu.
    Himanshu got in touch with other IIM alumni already in this field about the prospects. He then approached Jitendra Singh, the MP of Alwar, from where he hails. Singh is an AICC secretary. "I have no political inclinations. I went to AICC because I knew Singh. He responded positively. If they had rejected me, I would have gone to some other party,'' he said. At AICC, Himanshu will be involved with the media cell, campaign management and part of the election campaign in the West Bengal polls. "There's something called the media war room in the media cell. It formulates strategies of campaigning and projection of leaders. Branding of leaders is important, especially for a party like the Congress, where the Gandhis are the icons. I'll compare it with other political campaigns, including those in the US,'' Himanshu explained.
    Though internship is for two months, the process has already started. Himanshu is working on a study to be submitted to Jitendra Singh. "I hope to meet Rahul Gandhi and others in the AICC. It'd be great to meet leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Ahmed Patel,'' he said.

Himanshu Meena plans to establish a political strategy firm, which will act as a consultancy for political parties in campaign management, market research and other related areas