Survive from the stupid media management

 

(As most of my readers are International, they can skip this post as this is purely focussed on the Indian politics. My apology for the inconvenience)

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 2^nd 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 !!

The empire strikes back - It's our country stupid

The Government, under tremendous public pressure, had to gulp the CIVIL Society demand on corruption and Lokpal Bill Committee, with the obvious political motive of undermining it and sabotaging it and backstabbing it later once the scene cools down a bit.

Anybody knows what is an ATM Ministry ? It is a ministry where you can get money on demand. In west Bengal it was traditionally the PWD or irrigation department that could supply unlimited money on demand to the people in power. In Delhi it was the Telecom Ministry. I have heard this sobriquet in Delhi at least 5 years ago and found out this is a very common joke in the capital, where you must be extremely good and big to earn a name in corruption, as everybody and their uncle are involved in it in a big way. So, we can safely assume that everybody in the streets of our capital knew about what was going on except, well, our dear PM and his cronies and their Madam and whoever were associated with them, (excluding Raja, he being the only fall guy - and see he is being punished!!) and nobody else ever knew anything about it.

I am happy that at least we have a PM who is spared of the fingers towards the unending streams of corruption stories, some of unbelievable proportions, come tumbling out of the closet. But then if he didn’t know about what was going on under his very nose in the Telecom Ministry, where every Tom, Dick and Harry knew something was amiss, for years on till the CAG – Media and the honorable Supreme court fights it out with the Government and forces some action, The PM should resign for absolute naivette and irresponsibility and intelligence failure and callousness, if not complicity.

We, the people of India, are not interested in the lame stories of the constraints of a coalition Government that you have to be a party to a huge and desperate cover-up of a huge loot of the country – equal to probably 40 years of all Bank heists in the whole country. The bottom-line of the story is loud and clear Mr. PM and your cronies like Digvijay Singh – a man who is talking to much- that you did not even lift a finger in this matter till you were absolutely forced and exposed by a huge effort by the Civil society in different forms and the judicial activism. Even after that, there were a lot of attempts at the beginning to scuttle the whole matter till the topmost court got angry and took the matter in their hands. Instances galore and the Suresh Kalmadis and Dayanidhi Marans and so many other people get a free run for years and usually get away with it unless the media or the judiciary takes cognizance of the lone fights of a few people and stand behind them.

The bill to ensure a watchdog to sniff out corruption in high places and force down some accountability is cooling in the back storeroom in the parliament for probably 40 years and now when under pressure, those very guys are saying that they have the right of self-regulation and they will do it !!?? Self-discipline is a good thing but the natural justice demand that the accused (or his father) cannot sit as the Judge too. When PM is ultimately responsible for the running of the entire Government, the backroom puppeteer Madam notwithstanding, how can he be absolved of all responsibility and be outside the purviews of a watchdog body ?

I am no big fan of Anna Hazare or for that matter, of anybody. But I am a patriotic Indian and fully agree that it is the new independence struggle for the country and it is only the first step that we are fighting for now. The Government will use every maneuver and weapons at its disposal to somehow scuttle the fight, in the name of caste- religion-destabilizing forces-communalism-holier than thou-who are representatives-right of the elected people etc. etc. and do not fall for it. Wake up and rise, my brothers and sisters, fight for the country. It is our country, stupid.

Koli .. I mean.. Cattle-Yuga – Survive from the holy politicians

In a republic, public is the most important thing and regard them so highly that you constantly tell lies to them to garner the votes. This is the motto of our beloved leaders. Some prefer to call them jokers, but I will stick to their original status. What sins did we commit to not deserve them?

On a perfect back-handed volley by one of the most colorful characters of our times, a man with exceptional talent and intelligence, on his twitter account is attracting daily fire-smacking and mudslinging by our big leaders, small people of all hues - complainer, bootlicker, saboteur, bully, backstabber, wheeler-dealer, muckraker, mudslinger, swamp dweller, life-hater and what-not ! They are throwing up daily fits in trying to fit in some of their runaway ambitions and in the bargain raised a big question mark over the basic integrity of a whole bloodied nation. All in the indirect blessing of the low-integrity high-command or in a desperate bid to please that ubiquitous and cunning supreme power called Lady.

A bona-fide sharp wit has thrown up the golden half-chance. Sharp knifes are out, cold as a razor blade, tight as a tourniquet, dry as a funeral drum, blood-hungry like the Casius dagger. The victim is running around in search of some nook and it is an ex-parte, open field for the very small people to make the goals.

Ipso facto, by the very fact that the remark was made to answer a diabolical question which used the word “cattle class” – which is oh so T R U E by any view and standard, the return volley included the “holy cow” which, to any witty person, is appropriate answer and a respectable wit. But that is being used as the body of crime, Corpus delicti, goes to point to the deep rot in our political system and not a fallacy on the commentator.

In the middle of this macabre theater of the absurd, it’s a cold comfort that The Lady or his even more holy son are silent till now – as no one dare disturb the sound of silence.
("Fools," said I, "you do not know Silence like a cancer grows” – courtesy Paul Simon – “And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made”). This has given even more ammunition to the power-hungry scums to shout louder and suggest more and more punishment ? Punishment ? I am laughing so hard that a health disaster is imminent. This is cattle-yug, Supreme Lord, make me blind, and don’t forget deaf and dumb and do it NOW.

The drama that is being enacted by the ruling party for a long time is diabolical enough, now they have suddenly got a new and potent weapon called “austerity”. To re(lease) the public in the pond of lies, every Tom Dick (and even their Mom !!??) are traveling with the cattle class (quite a revelation – I always though they were the pigs – to be slaughtered). While hundreds of crores being spent on their security alone (and hundereds on other facilities), they are saving “Rs. 8000” and flashing it in all the newspapaers at the expense of crores ? What about the lacs. Crores of Indian black money in the foreign secret accounts (of which I won’t be surprised if our Emperor family has 20000 crores) ? What about the thousands of crores of public (I mean of those pigs – I mean cattles) money that is stolen and siphoned off every year ? What about the lacs of crores that the industrialists have not paid back the banks (our banks !) ? What about the lacs of crores that have been raised from the public on the share market and the companies vanished into the blues – have you ever seen even one of those 2000+ companies being punished ? What about the thousands of crores that are shown and agricultural income every year and not a paisa of tax paid on them ? Simple, you buy a fabulous farm house in Mehrauli with 15 crores, show it as 50 Lacs, and then show that every year it produces tomatos and cabbages of Rs. 14 crores – 100% tax-free as agricultural income. I dare Pranab tax the agricultural income at 0.5% (that too above Rs. 5 Lacs) which will force them to declare the return every year. I am ready to bet my wife and daughter that he can’t. He will be lynched by the politicians of all parties together. The theft and the siphoning of money seems to have been systematic and institutionalized under the 50 year rule of the “Party”. It’s party time, folks.

The issue is that it is not a question of saving Rs. 8000/- or 8 lacs or it’s real benefit (The Telegraph showed a few days that by not using the Government plane, our Foreign Minister is spending much more on the commercial planes). The question is to make a Suggestio falsi, present a vicious lie to the cattles (or they think us as pigs ? ) that is the general public. These scums do not do any pro bono social work, they do their own aggrandizement for which we spend thousands of crores of our money. Philosophers say that “Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful”, then why are we still putting up with these scums ?

Manmohan Singh, the only man among the wolves but who still behaves like a boy in front of the Lady, has spoken that the comment was made as a joke but what was missing was the ruthless finality of a fullstop and that obviously did not make much difference to the wolves on the scent of child blood.

The incident is a landmark in the sense that it is making a wrong precedent in the matters of public dealing and honesty of the rare people like Tharoor. The problem of planting a poison tree is that while some trees may not give fruit, a poison tree will always give fruit, one day or the other. If it doesn’t, men will fly across the heavens!