Ankit Lal
Ankit Lal is a Political Campaign Strategist, consultant and author. He started as a Social Media activist in 2011 and then went on to head the Social Media and IT wing of the 'Aam Aadmi Party' (AAP) which emerged out of the 'India Against Corruption' movement. He worked as SM & IT Head of AAP from its inception in 2012 till the first half of 2020. He managed the party's Digital presence in 15+ National, state and municipal level elections while being a part of the organization. His book titled 'India Social' came out in 2017 and was published by Hachette. The book tries to throw some light on how the Digital world impacted the real world discourse through examples of 15 events/campaigns. He is also a columnist and writes for NDTV. In 2020 he moved on from AAP to open his own Political Consultancy firm called 'Politique Advisors' and has since worked in multiple state elections with different political organizations. He also worked as a consultant on campaigns in South Africa, Malaysia and Sri Lanka over the past few years. He is also exploring the world of new technologies like Virtual reality and Artificial Intelligence.
India Against Corruption
Volunteer and Digital campaign leadWhen Anna Hazare came to Delhi for his first protest in April 2011, Ankit joined IAC as a volunteer. Over the next few months, he started to manage the Digital assets while ideating and leading Digital campaigns for the organization. He was also detained several times during the August 2011 protests.
AAP
Founder member,Ex National Council Member and Former IT & SM Head
AAP was born out of the IAC movement and like many others from the movement Ankit also became a part of it. He is a Founder member of the party and was the IT & Social Media head of the organization since its very inception. He led some of the most talked about Digital Campaigns in India while being a part of AAP and was covered by media organizations across the globe. Multiple books and research papers talk about his work and his personal expertise in the domain of Digital campaigning. He left the organization in September 2020 to start his own venture.
Politique Advisors(TM)
FounderAnkit founded Politique Advisors (TM) in 2020 after moving on from his role in AAP. He believes that whatever he has learnt over the years needs to be shared with a larger group of politicians and grassroot activists. With the idea of taking his expertise to a larger audience, both in India and globally, Politique Advisors (TM) was born. The company provides 360-degree communication solutions in the domain of politics, grassroots activism, non-profits and governance.
Politrack(TM) (C)
Founder and Chief EvangelistBecause of his background with IAC and AAP, Ankit understands the value of volunteerism. With Politrack he is trying to crystallize his knowledge of volunteering, running large worker/volunteer organizations and getting tasks done remotely into the form of a tech solution. He believes that this product will be usable in any developing or developed democracy in the world and can function as the umbilical cord between the leadership and workers/volunteers. The product unifies cutting edge mobile technology along with AI and yet looks at problems faced by volunteer/worker riven organizations from a very practical viewpoint. Till date the product has been used by 3 different political organizations in 4 different elections.
ExcelCube
MentorExcelCube is a new age technology company which delves into the domains of Artificial Intelligence, e governance and Virtual Reality. Ankit serves as a mentor for the team at Excelcube and helps them come up with cutting edge solutions and immersive experiences using the latest tools.
Ecoplore
Tech EnablerEcoplore is a booking platform for curated eco-hotels and sustainable travel which has been recognized by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for fulfilling SDG 12. Ecoplore is a women-founded and women-managed company and Ankit sometimes helps them with technology related solutions.
Gandhi Metaverse
FounderMahatma Gandhi was one of the greatest communicators of his generation but how many of his thoughts, ideas and writings would be able to transcend into the next age of communication with Virtual and Augmented Reality is for us to answer. With the intention of making Mahatma Gandhi accessible to the next generation Ankit has started an initiative called Gandhi Metaverse in which he's trying to get the available content by and about Mahatma Gandhi Metaverse ready. The project is still in its very initial stages and as Metaverse and VR become more prevalent, we will continue to explore the horizons.
Sequifi
AdvisorSequifi is a SAAS company providing HR automation solutions. Currently it is focused on the Pest Control and Solar market in the North America region. Eventually it wants to expand into other geographies and industries. Ankit is an advisor to the firm and helps them with keeping in sync with the market requirements and getting varied talent on board.
RBD Productions
Mentor & ConsultantRBD Productions is a new age production house with a Global vision. Currently working with several OTT platforms, the company's vision is to make world class shows which appeal to a global audience
‘As a pioneer in the age when social media has become India’s new political pulpit and argumentative town-square, Ankit Lal is perfectly poised to chronicle India’s transformational tryst with Twitter and Facebook and whatever comes next.’ – Shekhar Gupta, senior journalist and recipient of the Padma Bhushan.
‘This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how social media has shaped India in the past decade.’ – Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister, Delhi In India Social, social media activist and influencer Ankit Lal takes a deep dive into India’s biggest social media campaigns and analyses how, in just the last ten years, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and WhatsApp have changed the way Indians engage with politics, popular culture and social revolution.
From the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which unleashed the potential of the medium, to the 2012 #IndiaAgainstCorruption protests; from the rage-filled Justice for Nirbhaya movement to the citizen-driven fight for a free Internet with the #NetNeutrality campaign; from the controversial #AIBRoast to WhatsApp becoming the primary tool used to spread the agenda and ideology of major political parties – India Social unravels, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes stories of the most influential social media movements of the past decade. Incisive and insightful, India Social is the story of how they began, why they spread and the way they have reshaped democratic life in India.
What I Do
Strategy Consulting
Helping organizations with strategy in the domain of communication, technology and public engagement
New Tech
Exploring the use of new Technologies like AI, Machine Learning, Virtual and Augmented reality for the Global market
Technology Solutions
Enabling use of in-house technology and partnered solutions for governance, non profits and corporate management
