Karnataka Assembly polls may be a headache for many politicians as in other parts of the country but is becomes”a festival time’ or ‘ brisk business time for many– Spin doctors, media analyst and experts, programmers and tagline writers, poll managers, observers and so on. Some of them take up their work with utmost sincerity while for others, it is time for guided tours, sight seeing and recreation.
Over 100 such experts and observers have descended on Bangalore during the last 9 days to contribute their might and give the best part of experience and experience in their respective fields for their parties. At local level, short film makers, script writers, jingle makers and catchy song writers are in huge demand. Their tagline is “ more is merrier “because there are at least four different parties in the fray, trying to churn out new slogans, advertisement lines and social media campaign themes to draw their voters attention and loyalty.
After the Gujarat Assembly polls, the importance of social media has grown manifold and in the battle for karanataka too, a lot is playing out on the social media, especially Twitter and Facebook. The triumphs and foolhardiness “ Fenku and Pappu apart’ which has become more like a national pastime for urban netizens across the country, there are local versions of quips and barbs spread all over in local web portals as well. For those involved in the processing and promoting this “social media war, it has become ‘AATA BOMBATA” where all kinds of quips, quotes and comments are juxtaposed for the maximum impact.
As of now, all major political parties have brought out their decorated Generals like Rommel and Montgomery to win their battle of Trafalgar and register their presence on the sands of time. This time around however, ‘ local kannada Gaade’ and “Vachanas’ find prominence than traditional style of leaders and their pious parrotings and promises.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress and BS Yeddyurappa’s Karnataka Janata Paksha have all joined the bandwagon. The question is whether the Election Commission will be able to regulate online campaign because there is a danger of the tone and tenor of the campaign going to an unprecedented pitch in the content as well as in language.
The reason for such high pitch campaign by all political parties is simple. Karnataka has more than 88 percent literacy and even a small local or regional issue has the potential of creating a mass hysteria and turn the tables. In that sense, the BJP has certainly been ahead of its rivals.Last week, it launched its campaign with the tagline” taking Karnataka to new heights”. It is a different matter that the five years misrule has plummeted its credibility to an all tieme low. Yet the BJP boasts of having done wonderful work towards rural and agriculture development, interest-free loans to farmers, decentralization of powers to gram Panchayats. Infrastructure development and even counted Bangalore Metro transport as one of its achievements.
Struggling to retain its political influence following desertion of its leaders, the BJP has evolved an elaborate election preparation and management plan for its cadre that allows its district units to handle poll issues independently. It also held a daylong workshop last fortnight to introduce the poll plan to its election management committee members in Bangalore. The party has constituted 21 different wings both at the State and district-levels to handle different issues related to elections, such as poll expenditure, campaign, publishing of publicity material and campaign literature.
Yeddiurappa’s KJP too has not been far behind in this race.Sanjay Gowdar Sidappa leads the team of silent warriors for Yeddyurappa’s KJP. He is a part of the social media strategy cell that puts its skills to use to take on other political parties ahead of the elections. “More than employment, hundreds of people have voluntarily come forward and they have been putting in hours together,” Sanjay said.
JD(S) on the other hand, still prefers such electronic raazmatazz as’ more of a watse”than otherwise. Its leaders are more adept at reaching out to the voters home to home and convince them. However, the media advertisements showing HD kumaraswamy sitting with school children and interacting with farmers, sitting in Gram panchayats and showing new variety of seeds and farm applianaces is in consonance with Deve Gowda’s image as “ son of the soil’( Mannina Maga).
In any case, Cauvery water dispute, sonata for farmers and farm producers has been the corner stone of JD(S) campaign as it knows that its focus is primarily on Old Mysore area where farmers have the dominance.
However, it the Congress party which seems to have stuck to its traditional mode and is neither wants to neither change nor update it even today. The Congress party launched its social media campaign ten days ago with a catchy song laced theme campaign and a small video on the KPCC President as well. But its, media campaign has been totally negative so far.
In 2008 Asembly polls, the Congress party had made a 30 seconds “Saaku’ campaign which dwelt more on the failure of the BJP than otherwise. This time, that tagline has changed into “Saakappa Saaku” which is straight lift from the 2008 campaign theme. That speaks volumes about the bankruptcy of the thought process of the Congress leaders in Karnataka.
It is bewildering that the Congress party which has such a glorious past with 13 Chief Ministers having ruled the state and which brought about Karnataka on the world map in IT and BT during the reigns of its Chief Ministers, should have gone for wasting its money and energy in berating the opposition than showcasing its own achievements and explaining the strength and relevance of the Hand( The Congress Symbol) for the people of Karnataka and their future.
But then, there is no dearth of media and poll managers whose quixotic ideas have dumped the party. A case in the point is the 1989 black scorpion “ My heart beats for India” campaign designed by Rediffusion which threw the Congress out of power then.
This time around too, the Congress party seems to have already messed up its campaign plan and proceedings. Dilip Cherian’s Perfecet relations has been roped in by AICC media publicity head to do the honors. But then, the Congress party hardly seems to have learnt any lesson from its debacle of Madhya pradesh, Chhatishgarh and Rajasthan in 2008 Assembly polls and the 2012 Gujarat Assembly polls where its media managers ended up pasting the picture of Srilankan refugees to show malnutrition in Modi’s Gujarat and invited nationwide indignation and outrage !!.
It remains to be seen how the media management wizards of the Congress party manage to turn the tide in their favour and cobble up a positive and spirited campaign. In fact, a few managers who have seen Congress party campaigns in the past are still grappling in the dark about what to do next.” The search is still on for good campaign slogans and taglines’, says an insider. But then, the Congress party always thrives on the concept of”profit in plenty” and even today its War Room Commanders in Bangalore, local media managers and the Perfect relations Chieftains could be seen running like headless chickens in their premises in Ali Askar Road, Bangalore. (Posted on April 19, 2013)
(Ajay Jha is a Commentator and Independent Writer and Analyst on Politics, security and Economy of South And West Asia. His email id is: Ajay N Jha <ajayjha30@gmail.com>)
