The road to victory

|
  • 2

The road to victory

Friday, 14 December 2018 | Ajoy Kumar

The road to victory

The Congress’ win warrants a fairer examination and greater recognition. One of the biggest obstacles the party faced in the run-up to the polls was a section of the media

In science and philosophy, there is a rule referred to as ‘Occam’s Razor’, which basically states that the simplest explanation is often the right one. In the week leading up to the elections, there was an article by Surjit Bhalla, where he claimed that the Congress and its allies would fail to even win one State despite exit polls and opinion polls indicating otherwise. His reasons were far from simple and contrary to noise on the ground. This lends credence to the belief that while the simplest answer is often the right one, a complicated explanation is the bellwether of a wrong one. 

The past few days saw the Congress win the mandate of the people in three massive States namely, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Widely viewed (by most in the media, especially within the BJP) as the States being the stronghold of the BJP, there is no denying the fact that the Congress has dealt a major blow to the BJP in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha election. If you have, however, spoken to a supporter or had a chance to watch certain news channels, you would think that the Congress should actually feel sorry for itself for winning these three major States. The narrative that is being peddled, primarily by the BJP, is that these elections were fought on local factors and that anti-incumbency played a larger role in the victory than the work done by the Congress and its workers. Such an argument, unsurprisingly, betrays a lack of humility and hubris on behalf of the BJP.

In this week’s column, I aim to provide context to the Congress’s victory in order to understand the obstacles that the party faced in the run-up to the elections. I will briefly talk about the simple factors that enabled the party to emerge victorious.

One of the biggest obstacles that the Congress faced in the run-up to the elections was the media. While it goes unsaid, I wish to clarify that my observations do not apply carte blanche to all media but is, instead, a commentary on certain sections of the media. You, the reader, would have seen it too. There are certain sections in the media that appear to be operating with a clear agenda of promoting even minor achievements of the BJP and takes pleasure in belittling any effort of the Congress.

While there is an argument to say that no media can be absolutely unbiased, one would expect them to fulfil the function of being a reporter of facts rather than mere fanboys or fangirls. Take the example of how the media treats the language used by the Prime Minister in contrast with the one used by Rahul Gandhi. In the case of Modi, there have been innumerable occasions where the Prime Minister has used disgraceful and disgusting language against members of the Gandhi family and the Congress in particular, which was recently evident by his comment of ‘Congress ki Vidhwa’. Barely any major news channel covered this.

Contrast this with any comment made by Rahul Gandhi and how it is equated with being disrespectful and arrogant. Similar was the manner in which even minor achievements or everyday governance is treated as a day of celebration. Even military action, such as surgical strikes, was not spared. In willful ignorance of the fact that such actions do not aid India’s Armed Forces and have repeatedly been done in the past by previous Governments, sections of the media provided loud horns for the BJP to repeatedly blow on.

Another factor that cannot be ignored is the influence of money and how the BJP and its big, wealthy donors armed the party with a huge war chest to fight the elections. As you may be aware, elections are extremely expensive propositions and can have a huge influence on the outcome. It is this influence of money that a modern democracy aims to check and regulate. The BJP has not earned the moniker of ‘Suit Boot ki Sarkaar’ for nothing. It is reported to be the largest benefactor of donations compared to other political parties. As I have written previously, the introduction of electoral bonds and the corresponding amendments to the Companies Act, 2013 and the Income Tax Act among others by the BJP have made it easier than ever for money to have a greater influence on politics and skew the electoral process.

The Congress, in contrast, focused on raising smaller amounts from its supporters and remained largely uninfluenced by any particular industrialist. This enabled the party to not be ruled by the whims and fancies of any particular industrial interest but to fight on the ground on its own terms, and on issues raised by the public.

Similarly, the fact that the BJP was already in power in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh was another obstacle the Congress had to work against. While in power, the BJP was free to use the state machinery, besides SOPs and freebies like distribution of cellphones, to influence the electorate. Therefore, the victory of the Congress despite the above obstacles, warrants, in my opinion, a fairer examination and greater recognition.

While I have briefly discussed how the obstacles highlighted above indicate that the victory of the Congress in the State elections is a bigger victory than what many would like to admit, it would be amiss to not examine factors that enabled the Congress to emerge victorious in the elections as well.

The biggest factor that worked for the Congress in the elections was the contrasting approach in leadership between the BJP, led by Prime Minister Modi and the Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi. The BJP represents a loud, garish and an anti-intellectual approach to politics and public discourse. This is the most basic feature of the BJP in its current form and this has been visible throughout its entire tenure.

Whether it is the destruction of institutions by replacing experts in a particular field with mere yes-men or the inability of Prime Minister Modi to have a single debate or to hold a single Press conference and answer questions about unemployment, demonetisation agrarian discontent. Contrast this with the Congress and Rahul Gandhi who have repeatedly been amongst the people who have encouraged tough questions. People of these three States have wised up to this crucial difference. The people of the country have wised up to the fact that one leader has spent the past few years on the ground listening to the people while the other has spent a huge amount on his own public image, has dodged any hint of a difficult question by flying out of the country and can be seen hobnobbing with celebrities and industrialists at weddings.

Another factor that worked in favour of the Congress was the freedom granted to the State units. Speaking from my own experience, in Jharkhand, the Congress leadership has encouraged State units to build a closer bond with the public of the particular State by spending time in the State with the people and recognising specific issues of each State. This was evident from the difference in the issues raised and the campaign organised in Madhya Pradesh as opposed to Rajasthan. This kind of freedom allows the State units to contribute to the party’s success and just as significantly feel as if they are participating to the party’s success.

Contrast this with the BJP where chief campaigners like Prime Minister Modi, Yogi Adityanath and Amit Shah hijacked the State narrative and attempted to replace it with their own parochial narrative of division on religious grounds, changing the names of cities and insulting the Congress. This was another example of disconnect between the BJP’s high command and the common man.

This week, I have attempted to provide some reasons as to why in my opinion, the Congress beat the odds to win the recent elections. I have attempted to back my arguments with reasons and rationale and I would appreciate any disagreement that is similarly backed by reason and debate. Whether certain supporters, however, will be persuaded by reason as opposed to rhetoric though is another matter altogether.

(The writer is Jharkhand PCC president, former MP and IPS officer. Views are personal)

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda