In a crucial election year, when social media plays a significant role in moulding perceptions, reports have emerged of a rift within the ranks of the Congress that could affect the party's social media imprint. The most visible fallout has been the rumour of Divya Spandana, president of the social media unit, quitting.
The talk was spurred by a change in her Twitter bio. Congress denied the rumours and Divya blamed the tweak on a bug, but party insiders say she is part of a turf war which links back to politics in her home state of Karnataka.
Divya, along with communications head Randeep Singh Surjewala, was entrusted with Congress' social media accounts as well as that of party president Rahul Gandhi. The job went to Nikhil Alva sometime after the Gujarat Assembly elections.
Sources say that both Spandana and Alva "worked in silos, without any institutional linkages" on the party's digital communications. Alva, son of party veteran Margaret Alva, composes Gandhi's English tweets and is said to be as close to Gandhi as Spandana.
When Alva took over Gandhi's handle, he asked Spandana for three social media consultants. However, he ended up borrowing three Future of India fellows from National Students' Union of India (NSUI) instead. This is said to have soured matters.
The consultants now sit in the Jawahar Bhawan where Alva's office is located and not at the social media's Gurudwara Rakabganj Road office.
Besides an ambition for the social media president's post, Alva has also expressed interest in the data analytics team. His brother, Nivedith, contested in the Karnataka Assembly elections, and there are now talks of him being given an MLC ticket.
Spandana, a former MP, is said to be keen on re-entering electoral politics with an eye on the Mandya parliamentary seat. However, with the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) in the fray, there have been talks with local leaders for the south Bangalore seat. With BJP's Ananth Kumar battling illness, the seat could be up for grabs. It is said Spandana is now travelling to Bangalore on Saturday to discuss the seat with state leaders.
Chiselling away for the Parliamentary seat has ensured that she is away from Delhi on the weekend, leaving matters in the hands of the national coordinators. A feared task master (unpunctuality can cost a team member a portion of the day's salary), she's not popular within the team and some employees have quit due to the pressure.
Spandana has also had run-ins with Surjewala, and this is seen in the lack of a unified approach in the party's media outreach. Ideally, as the party spokesperson, Surjewala should set the tone and tenor of the outreach, but sources say Spandana has bypassed him several times.
Jairam Ramesh, the party's campaign committee co-ordinator for 2019 Lok Sabha elections, has made it clear that the party's various wings will have to put their differences aside and work together. And apparently, it was this demand for unification that stirred the hornet's nest.
SEALED WITH A TWEET
- Divya Spandana, president of the social media unit, changed her Twitter bio, but blamed the tweak on a bug
- She was in charge of the party’s social media accounts, as well as that of Rahul Gandhi and Randeep Singh Surjewala
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