Minority leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has praised the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) for transforming itself to become a formidable party that is more appealing to students on various campuses today.

According to him, it was almost a taboo for any student to be associated with the NDC on campus in the past because almost every student was in love with the New Patriotic Party and was proud to associate with the party's tradition.

However, he said, the NDC as a party persevered and, without giving up, has today become popular among students across the country.

Speaking at a forum, he admitted that the NDC's enviable position now, where it has become the choice of many students, was achieved through the rebranding of the party's image.

He said, "I think that we need to understand how data reacts to our actions. Back in the days at Cape Vas [University of Cape Coast], it was difficult for a student to associate himself with NDC."

According to him, one of the easiest ways students used to win elections on campus was to brand their opponents as being associated with the NDC, and the students' population would definitely vote against the candidate perceived to be NDC.

"One way at the university, if you want to contest for leadership on campus and anybody dares say you are NDC, you will lose," he emphasised.

This, he said, was because "No student wanted to hear NDC. So the NDC boys were hiding to do their meetings. They wouldn't do their meetings in the open."

He recounted how his cousin, who once acted as his campaign manager, lost a contest as Casford Hall president in the last minute because he was branded as an NDC person by his opponents.

"I remember my own cousin was contesting for Casford President. I was his campaign manager. Last minute, he lost, and after the election, we were told that there was some NDC pickup at Oguaa Hall area where he was found talking to someone in the car, and this was used as propaganda against him." He stressed.

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Afenyo-Markins insisted that the NPP took the strong trust and passion students reposed in the party for granted, and that has worked to the advantage of the NDC.

Fast-forwarding, he explained that despite the struggles the NDC went through at the various tertiary institutions, the NDC decided not to give up but considered rebranding as an option.

"There was a time I was commending NDC for their transformation. It was misconstrued. Today, I won't let any fear grip me. I will face the reality and let people misconstrue it. But that is the reality?" he quizzed.

"They went into rebranding of their party. They branded their party to make it attractive to students." He emphasised.

The Minority leader suspected that the tertiary education wing of the NDC, TEIN, may even be more popular than that of the NPP, which is known as TESCON, a once powerful wing that dominated across various campuses.

His frustration stemmed from his assumption that "Today, students are able to say proudly, I'm NDC because of the branding."



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