The Congress is weaker than it has been in decades, with just a few States in hand. And, so is the left. It is an excellent season for the BJP to build a superstructure for a saffron ecosphere that ends the old order for good
This is a crossroads moment to grow the saffron ecosystem, not for vanity or righteousness, but to push aside and eclipse the vast Congress/left one, deeply embedded in our consciousness. It is very important, politically and not just culturally, to do this, as it is the only way to rejoin the broken pieces of a polity deliberately fractured into classes, castes, religions and regions, to suit the machinations of the Congress, in continuation of the British policy of divide and rule.
In that generous euphoria that followed the great win of May 16, 2014, nothing substantial was done to defang the UPA’s elaborate communications infrastructure. So, it wasn’t very long, taking this Government to be naïve, inept, and gauche, that Congress, with 44 seats in the lok Sabha, still felt fit to mount a fresh challenge, accompanied by a veritable manufacturing plant of scurrilous propaganda.
It was decided to damn parliamentary etiquette, or reasoned argument, and amplify all the staged outrage and belligerence via a substantial presence in the Congress-loving media. Money paid and advertising revenue gleaned naturally play their part, but does not seem to be quite so effective for the BJP-led NDA. By way of contrast, the tiny Aam Aadmi Party uses relentless advertising and controversial sound bytes to leverage its media profile masterfully.
The big mistake for the Government, in hindsight, was not going on the offensive on UPA’s corruption and that of some of its allies and media supporters, from day one. But now, suddenly, a humbled BJP, after two ignominious losses in State elections of Delhi and Bihar, has had its mojo restored. With the non-traditional Assam victory, the BJP and the Sangh parivar have been given another chance to set wrong the rights. So, what should the Government’s communication strategy beIJ
First of all, it should look to its resolve. To lack determination now, when opponents are once again lying defeated and supine, would be a fresh tragedy in the making. If this opportunity is grasped firmly, and used properly this time, both as to changed election strategy/tactics, and the broader but yet vital universe of the public relations battle, it will lead to good fortune and victory, in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and perhaps, even another big one in 2024. It could not only become a Congress-mukt Bharat, but be enough years in the saddle for the BJP/NDA, to transform the country economically, politically, culturally, and militarily.
To cut through the jungle of misinformation and calumny that is assiduously propagated, what is needed now are some sharp new intellectual machetes; some moderation in the pitch and tone, and a broad sense of organisation.
Still, epithets like ‘bhakts’, ‘chaddies’, and ‘trolls’, are bandied about as if they were a birth-right. Broader accusations against the saffron brigade include escapees from the freedom movement, appropriators of history, obscurantists, misogynistic, communal. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been likened to Hitler more times in these 24 months, than ever before.
This is a perfect time to increase the visibility and articulation of the broader saffron universe, as the party and the Government continue to relentlessly mainstream, broaden their appeal, and increase national footprint. It now rules in 16 States covering 45 per cent of the population there, plus the centre.
The BJP and its affiliates certainly, but also their many friends, need to ramp up their visibility in the visual electronic/digital media as well as in print. This implies beefing up the media presence inclusive of acquiring/investing in media assets and infrastructure.
The hundreds of ‘warriors’ or yodha, as BJP president Amit Shah calls them, are doing an exuberant job of it on social media already. Saffron think-tanks such as the Vivekananda International Foundation and the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation must articulate a public vision, and raise their level of media commitment and interaction, both via the visual and print media. The official spokespersons from the BJP’s media cell need their flanks covered by sympathetic others from the broader saffron ecosystem, including the corporate world, columnists that are Right-of-Centre if not party-line perfect, and people from the Armed Forces, the bureaucracy, the sports world, public intellectuals, the financial markets, the expatriates and NRIs, foreign-based think tanks/academia, manufacturing, software, construction etc. These people, drawn into a saffron communications ecosphere by deliberate and coordinated induction, could add much nuance and shading to the bare-faced party-line.
Their advantage and credibility lies in the fact that they are not official spokespersons, but are nevertheless in sympathy with the general thrust. These soft-sellers could go a long way to counter and mitigate some of the provocative propaganda unleashed by the other side, as also the outrageous and offensive remarks made by some parliamentarians/MlAs from the lotus pool too.
Their involvement could add layers of commentary, strategic depth, and sophistication to the saffron narrative, broadening the appeal and embrace of a centrist position, to draw in people who may not subscribe to, and are put off by, strident Hindutva tropes. This approach has worked very well for the other camp.
The celebrity universe too can be most useful and the saffron tent can gain by adding its own contingent of writers, poets, artists, actors, comedians of its colour. There is actor and MP Paresh Rawal, , but others too have been drawn in, bringing both their star power and /or expertise to the table. Think of the much reviled Chetan Bhagat, who speaks his mind undeterred. And, most recently, the sticks-and-stones braving ‘Chintu’, Rishi Kapoor.Khiladi Akshay Kumar declared a while back, and so did the beautiful Raveena Tandon and the bold Anupam Kher.
To win the minds and hearts game, as Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani realises, it is necessary to dismantle the old indoctrinating ecosystem too. It is no less pernicious than any Wahhabi thought, even though it is a house built by the Congress and the left. It is a formidable and tentacular thing, extending into the media, the universities, amongst the bureaucracy, in schools, colleges, into their staff selections and curricula.
The Congress is weaker than it has been in decades, with just a few States and seven per cent of the population in them; and so is the left, with just Kerala in its kitty. It is an excellent season to capture the initiative and build a superstructure for the saffron ecosphere that puts paid to the old order once and for all.