No inclination to be a politician,  says Sonu Nigam

By Rajesh Ahuja

Playback singer Sonu Nigam today refuted rumours of his joining politics saying that he does not have any inclination to be a politician.

Amid rumors of his joining politics after he invested in digital technology company 'Buffering ', Sony Nigam said he has only invested in digital technology company 'Buffering' that focuses on political accounts and has no inclination to be a politician.

"I have friends across all parties. However,  that does not  mean I have aspirations,'Sonu Nigam said.

''The media has been focusing on news, more from an entertainment aspect. I do not have any political ambitions neither am I joining any political party. I appreciate the reach of technology and hence have only invested in this tech company that amplifies political personalities 'Sonu Nigam  said.

Sonu Nigam has  invested Rs 6 crores in  political tech company 'Buffering' founded by entrepreneur Amit B Wadhwani, Manoj Motiani and Darshani Khatri in 2019. 

The singer was seen over the last two months at charity events of multiple politicians across India and there are reports coming in of him meeting with party leadership of two national parties in the country.  This had given rise to speculation of his joining politics. 

Sonu Nigam refutes rumours of his joining politics after he invested in digital technology company that focuses on political accounts 

 Amit B Wadhwani, founder of Buffering, said, they have  received investments from Sonu Nigam  and Arvog Ventures India in June 2021.

Buffering currently offers services by invitation to 56 key political figures across India, offering them digital, data, technology and AI based amplification services.  The current Valuation of Buffering stands at 55M USD. It aspires to accumulate revenues to the tune of 800 crores by 2023, with majority of that coming in from election campaigning. 

The company plans to raise Rs  150 crores over the next 6 months to expand the network pan Indian before 2022 - the big election year.  

Wadhwani said that the fresh round of funds will be utilised to on-board the next set of 75 political leaders, beefing up of technology and strengthening the research teams across Mumbai and Delhi.

On investing in the company,  Ketan Kothari, Director - Arvog Ventures India said political Psephology combined with data and technology is an extremely profitable industry with huge revenue potential. 

''Political Psephology coupled with data and technology is an unexplored industry which has a huge revenue potential with  an extremely profitable business plan. Buffering founders have built a commendable model which will redefine election campaigning in India. I loved the focus on profitability in spite of keeping scale in mind,'Kothari said. 

 Darshani Khatri,  co-founder of Buffering,  said there is tremendous scope for use of technology in Psephology. 

 'India will see numerous elections in days to come. Technology play is still very minimal. We at buffering simplify understanding voting, constituencies, data and voting patterns from tier 1 to tier 6 cities and to villages covering the length and breadth of the nation,'he said. 

Manoj Motiani - Co-founder and creative head  of Buffering,  said “There is a huge need for purposeful communication about politics. At Buffering our vision is to create highly engaging political campaigns combining creativity, data and technology in a contemporary way. '

He further added that it’s very interesting to use creative tech solutions in this digital age to reinforce public knowledge and beliefs on a large scale, almost on an instant and continuous basis. ‘Politainment’ - use of entertainment, emotions, colloquial references in Politics will further redefine political communication to make leaders and parties more approachable, admired and relatable.

Buffering aspires to bring about a paradigm shift in politics related communication thereby closing the gap between the people of the nation and the personalities that run the country.