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The above picture has been posted in facebook from a fake Id created by the Vote-Guru Prashant Kishore's team. PK has engaged thousands of boys, all paid temporary positions, to fight it out in the social media for the 2021 election in WB, India.
I strongly believe that it is absolutely crucial that
BJP must come to power in West Bengal in 2021, for a hundred reasons, for the
health of his beloved state and even survival in a few key areas. Because of
certain aspects, that will call for all hands on deck, no quarters given nor
asked and fight to the last man standing.
I would like to focus on a simple but crucial
factors that goes a long way towards a high velocity war, Media (and image
Management)
I will start with an analogy. Being in IT sector for
nearly one and a half decade, I keenly watched Infosys for both sectoral and
the investor view. I narrowly missed
being in it, as I stood second in their terrific written exam (the most
difficult I have ever given) and stood 2nd in Kolkata, still they
couldn’t take me because I was awfully stupid in the interview. Anyway, in
spite of the huge image of the co. from all aspects including the ethical
ground and the corresponding Godly status of Narayana Murthy, I made a conclusion
that Infosys has done a tremendously strategic image management of the same, a
highly unusual and brilliant one. Just for example, in an interview in 2000 or
2001, Murthy explained he will only keep 5% of the wealth for their children
and give the rest to charity. I later kept track how in every ADR exercise,
Murthy and other promoters have squeezed thousands of crores selling some of
their shares, which in any case, grew exponentially with huge options, while at
the lower levels the co. simply acted like a ruthless sweatshop, I heard the
stories from friends who worked there. How the image was used? To get lots of
orders through the halo of authority, ethics and quality. One example will
suffice. When I was in Siemens, in 2004, we were after a big order in
Australia. My Boss, the head of Kolkata Center who also headed the Insurance
practice, went to Australia to fight it out as we were in the last phase of it,
with TCS and Infosys as main competitors, Wipro and Satyam were already out.
Just the day before going, I got a call from him, that what is the point in
going, Infosys will get it. I said why ? We are T1 and the commercial you can
always tune a bit !! He said, I just saw in the news that Murthy has gone there
and the PM Howard has given a dinner in his honour. End of story.
The same could be surmised regarding our great
Mahatma who, in spite of many virtues, was evidently in possession of many ill
traits and misdeeds. My father always made him accountable for making Nehru the
PM and being ruthlessly insensitive to the plight of crores of hapless Bengalis
and Punjabis in the partition, the greed for power conveniently forgetting how
crores of the people were massacred and made worse than beggars overnight.
Now lets come to the topic in hand.
In terms of media policy, Mamata has given 10 goals
to her detractors. Sly and cunning, ruthlessly selfish and jealously
dictatorial, she always understood the issue of blowing the trumpets, even with
laughable lies, in a Goebbelsian manner. She has tried to control the whole
print and TV media in the state by hook or crook, stick or carrot or anything
else. She has brought newspapers (with the cutmoney of course), forced the chit
fund owners to spend on media and channels that will constantly blow the
trumpet for Trinamool and given many sops or favours to some important
journalists so that they are bought and obligated for the rest of the life.
Media house owners, even the biggest ones like ABP groups were told in no
uncertain terms that it’s my way or highway. Hundreds of crores of
advertisements are given to them every year, and the owners, ultimately
businessmen and not the Don Quixote after the windmills, have all fallen in
line, The spineless boot-licking media make a lot of hulla-boo over a rape in
any BJP ruled state (like Hathras is there for 2 pages over the major papers
today) with the same incidents in the state (3 major rape cum murder in 2 days)
conveniently ignored and overlooked.
BJP, very sadly, is very low-scoring on this and whatever little it thinks, is poorly implemented in terms of reaching to the masses with your own version. In politics, right and wrong, even truth and lies, depend heavily on the interpretation of the masses and what they want to believe. I have told this in many forums and still found no serious intent. This is a crucial aspect which can cost BJP 10 tightly fought seats, that could be valued at a 100 crores if they have to trade later. Why not spend a fraction of that to get huge publicity advantage now ? There is absolutely no replacement for propaganda, right or fake. Do the leaders think people will try a lot and give a lot of effort to know their versions ? I find the neglecting attitude towards this tremendously powerful tool in politics an absolute stupidity. Or should BJP depend on people like Sanmoy Banerjee who is fighting like the lone wolf (Kumbha rather ?) against this government despite the attacks on him too ? And the small channels like Arambag TV who is a small fry but a crusader on a small scale. After being given 7 false cases by the police and kept in custody for more than 2 months, he is a little tired but still not enough intimidated,. BJP at least needed one paper, even a tabloid of 4 page only, one youtube channel in the line of Banglar Barta of Sanmoy Banerjee, and one TV channel. There are many small youtube channels like Bharatdarshan (of Dr. Anirban Ganguly) and others but they simply have such a low subscriber base that no major effect is expected. They simply cannot stand for the wider reach and influence on the mind of the common people who don’t have access or the time for these channels.
In the social media policy also BJP has scored
poorly. This is another poorly handled area where ill treatment of the brave
and dedicated ideological warriors is the norm. TMC has been relegated far
behind in this space for quite a few years, because the BJP supporters are not
mercenaries and fight for their deep
ideological dedication and conviction, but TMC (read PK) has lately woken up to
the fact and uses a pretty big team now who are capable and well-paid. For this samurai brigade, I believe that a huge part of the
credit for the Loksabha elections (where he publicly predicted in facebook a
tally of 13-19 seats) should go to them also. And BJP leadership
simply ignore and neglect the brigade, most of whom are highly educated,
intelligent and dedicated to the point of being indoctrinated. Lacs of people
have jumped the fence in the last few years simply because of the hurricane
presence of the BJP social media brigade. They should at least be thanked,
sometimes.
BJP has to look responsible to the mass, to really
look a sought after change agent. Even intent is not enough, it has to look
purer than the Caesar’s wife. Much before the actual manifesto is made, some
major policies have to be decided upon, and should be voiced time and being,
one at a time only, by a few top leaders only. This strategy has a tremendous
potential to shut up the fence-sitters and apprehensions, also to make a
serious difference to the perceived future under BJP. Properly used, this can
be a huge differential, pointing out the biggest deficiencies of the current
government as well as how life will be changed under BJP.
BJP is having a very high stake in 2021, because if they lose by any chance, all will be lost for the hindu Bengali populace. This has to be a red flag war, no hostages taken, no quarters given nor asked, it must be a fight to the finish. It just cannot play any percentage. Then, why should we wait for the announcement of elections and then start preaching? They have to get the people on their side much before that, and win the battle even before it actually starts. Covid is a very unfortunate affair, but as she has mishandled it tremendously, we have come back to the field actually. As BJP is somewhat weak in the field and also exposure, they cannot just throw away this opportunity. This may be quite fatal. Having people support is one thing and winning an election is another. BJP should not wait for the election campaign, people should wait for the election so that they can teach Mamata a lifetime lesson.
Because of the weakness of BJP in transmission and
desemination of information, Mamata has always been able to eat all the credit
of all the good measures of the center. The sticker politics has it's toll in
the minds of the rural people, but it is BJP’s discredit that they have not
been able to push the issue further. This is a very potent area to call the
huge bluffs and lies of her. E.g. BJP can start a block/ booth-level awareness
campaign (with the state-level created strategy and materials like leaflets and
small books) to create awareness about all the central benefits and how the
state people are being deprived of them, by theft, by cut-money, by blocking
access (like Ayushman, Farmer cash relief, One nation one ration etc). This
will work wonders in the rural areas, no doubt. Photos should be included to
show how the central work signboards of the rice bags are pasted with new stickers.
This exercise will simply knock the bottom of too many lies that she is trying
to create or make-believe for quite a few years.
Even the influence of Ganashakti, mouthpiece of CPM
in the state, is commendable and even more, considering their voter base has
come down to 7% now. Mamata has learnt fast on each of the strategies of CPM
and used them to the hilt for her own purpose after customisation.
BJP, alas, does not want to learn. It only wants to win !!
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