It's dangerous stuff, if you are a ticket-seeker. That woman tailing you may not be your Lady Luck. For one moment, if you follow your heart, instead of your brain, it will be the end of your political dreams.
The woman in question here is a detective – a Bobby Jasoos who is bad to Bond with. There are at least 50 of them in Maharashtra. One of their missions: collect evidence of potential candidates' and rivals' "weakness" for sex and drugs. Foreign trips of candidates, too, are under the scanner.
Parties are also hiring them to find out if potential candidates are meeting members of rival parties.
In the armoury of these detectives are high-tech spy gadgets, electronic chips that can be stuck on cars and bikes and spy software to snoop on mobile phones and Internet. For detective agenices, it's boom time. Maharashtra and Haryana are going to polls on October 15.
Says Akriti Khatri, chief of Venus Detectives, "We are handling several cases in both states. They want information about what their party members and rivals are doing, where they are getting funds from and what their weaknesses are. The inquiries have gone up since poll dates have been announced."
"Women are preferred as they are less suspect, get easy access, mix up fast and people easily confide in with them than men," says Nidhi Jain, director of New Delhi-based detective agency, Sleuths India.
Khatri's agency has been tracking politicians in poll-bound states for 6-7 years now. So, what are the juicy stuff they've detected?
Suddenly, agencies are silent. Poll-season spying is good business. Naming parties and leaders can hurt. No agency wants to lose a contract.
But two agencies narrated their finds. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the agency found out a small-time film actor, who was being considered by a party, was in the habit of making obscene posts online. This habit lost him the ticket.
Similarly, another agency found out that a probable candidate was twice married and the party concerned looked for another choice. For political parties, these are crucial background info, and, hence, budget is no constraint.
Detectives charge Rs1 lakh-Rs5 lakh per candidate, depending upon their stature and the information sought. Constituency survey may cost up to Rs10 lakh.
Sleuths India says several parties in both states have approaced her company too. Sleuths India has branches in Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. In fact, some detective agencies have been hired a month ago to know if a "Modi wave" state still exists or not.
"We have been asked to smell if a Modi wave exists. We are also gathering people's opnion on the next government. This helps parties to chalk out their strategies," says a Pune-based detective, in whose assessment though a Modi wave still exists, it's not that strong as in April.
Over two dozen agencies are currently working in Maharashtra. So, Mr candidate, if you think it's your charisma that's drawing that woman on your trail, think Bobby Jasoos.
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