Paying to read people’s pulse

Ref: ‘Lesson from Bengal: Poll outsourcing can be costly’ (January 25). Mamata Banerjee, the firebrand Congress leader from Bengal, left the party in January 1998, vehemently fought with the Communists singlehandedly and dethroned them in 2011. The grand old party hadn’t been able to accomplish this feat over a quarter century! For over a decade in state politics, she kept all national parties, including the BJP, at bay. But sadly now, the downto-earth leader, who must depend on poll strategists like Prashant Kishor.