•Maneesh Chibber: The Government staked its future on the nuclear deal. So why doesn’t one hear of Congress going to the masses and celebrating the deal?

Nuclear energy is very important for the common man. If energy security is not insured for the country, the country cannot progress. The energy sector can wipe poverty off the country’s map. We are going to sell this idea to the public. Not only that, we needed this deal for ensuring security. Without this deal, we would not get many essential drugs. Our scientists are very capable but you require 12-15 years to develop the kind of technology we can now get. Could the country wait for that long to match the standards of advanced nations in technology and research?

•Seema Chishti: What is the central grain of your campaign and how it is different from India Shining?

It is totally different from India Shining. ‘Jai Ho’ does not say that slums are singing. It is a theme to inspire, to motivate people and that is what has been done by the movie Slumdog Millionaire. The Congress makes public perception studies every week. Then there is a task force which decides the strategy for the following week, based on the perception audit. Whatever media publicity happens, whatever interaction our spokespersons have, we study those and then modify our campaign accordingly. This will remain till the elections get over. We bank on that flexibility.

•Coomi Kapoor: Who do you feel is a bigger challenge to the Congress—the NDA or the Third Front?

... contd.