Congress training more spokespersons

As demand for articulating the party’s stand increases ahead of the elections, the Congress is training more talking heads to take its views on various issues to the people, particularly through television talk shows.

A five-day workshop of spokespersons is underway at the Congress war room where about 65 people are taking lectures from policy planners, veteran journalists and retired bureaucrats on understanding and presenting the party view on various issues.

A key takeaway for the spokespersons is to be less aggressive but more effective, prepare for the topic under discussion in advance and have facts and figures on fingertips.

The participants were also put through rigorous drills of mock television debates, with experts initiating a debate to hone their skills.

The Congress plans to select about 30-35 spokespersons who would hold forth on the party view in television debates, particularly in local languages.

The five-day workshop began on Sunday with a detailed talk on handling television media by Sanjay Jha. The talk was peppered with comments from Ajay Maken, the AICC general secretary, in charge of the communication department.