[Link to Winning Delhi: Part 1 - The Narrative]
[Link to Winning Delhi: Part 2 - The Volunteer Force]
[Link to Winning Delhi: Part 3 - Channels and Methods]
Being a part of the whole comes with its own pitfalls. Weak parts of the strong whole tend to embrace complacency for confidence. This is probably what happened with BJP in Delhi. Delhi BJP does not have a reputation for being the most organized or coherent regional unit. Yet the way BJP was churning success after success, one hoped that the age of pathos in Delhi BJP would finally be done away with. This 'Hope', was the bastard of a thought trolling all BJPians on 10th Feb.
I was one to root vehemently for BJP & against AAP, with my liberal, progressive friends who make views out of "served news". I had to remove a boulder from my chest each time the phone rang that day, for it would invariably be from someone who'd be telling me what I already knew, "Kejriwal ne toh kamaal kar diya!" (Kejriwal has done amazingly well)
There are smart students who act so smart, they start looking stupid. They are so self-assured that they do not prepare the obvious questions before exams, hoping that (a) They won't be getting such obvious questions (b) By preparing for uncommon questions, they'll have something which others don't have (c) Nobody else would be preparing these questions. These are the guys who, when the results are out, claim, "I have no idea what went wrong. The examiner is a crook".
The obvious and most basic thing to do for BJP was to set-up, strengthen and effectively use its communication channels viz Mainstream Media (through spokespersons), Social Media and the foot-soldiers. None of these required any painstaking efforts from BJP. BJP was infact guilty of not doing more of the same.
Sprucing up Channels:
Identifying the right narrative:
Suggestion makers outside BJP have been critical of decision makers inside BJP over their campaign narrative, with many conflicting notions. Some see excessive Hindutva in BJP, some see a lack of it. Some were heard warning BJP against a negative campaign in future. Such dissonance in views only suggests that the BJP did not have any identifiable narrative for the Delhi elections. In my opinion, these suggestions by themselves are mono-causal, reductionist, arguably agenda-driven, simplistic and only partially helpful if at all.
Delhi was won over by a party which owes its existence to negative campaigns. Those suggesting BJP against negative campaigns probably want to shield their favorites from being critiqued while they keep pounding on BJP. That said, campaigns, whether negative or positive, have to be timed well. One should learn the art from evangelists and communists. They attack, criticize and try to debunk the standing beliefs and create affective vacuum in their target audience.. Then they fill it with their own world view. 15 days of haphazard campaigning was just not enough for BJP to achieve this. The best they could do in 15 days were negative campaigns and hope Modi's image gave the positive push. It didn't work.
As for Hindutva, anyone who suggests BJP against it, does not want BJP to win. With not more than 20% students going for Higher education in India (GER as of 2013-14), the prospect of attracting people with Right Wing macroeconomic principles is limited. On the other hand, Indians do not need to be taught to understand Socialist economics. It's simple - "You need freebies, freebies are your right, WE will get you freebies, vote for us". But then, people, more-so the simpletons, relate with the pride of being Hindu. Hindutva, is the answer to socialist propaganda even as people take their time to come to terms with macroeconomic considerations.
During the campaign, I talked to auto-walas, rickshaw-walas, wage labourers etc, other than house-owning middle classes. Freebies made sense to all. I would frequently come off as insensitive to poor while pushing hard to explain why freebies are bad, but they all related with the Hindu pride. They all accepted that AAP was trying hard to appease minorities. It struck a chord.
It is also noteworthy that a resurgent India needs not just change, but also progress and not just progress but also pride. The strains of Hindu revival as evident on SM, are spearheaded by the upsurging, aspirational, young enthusiastic middle-class men and women. Cultural nationalism appeals to all those who seek pride in their being. That said, the dominant messengers of the day are still left leaning. Subtlety in passing the message and avoiding unnecessary acrimony and bad press should be the key. Minorites must be assured that Hindutva is not directed against them. Hindutva is inclusive of them and is rather happy to have them share its legacy. In the age of accountability, people need messages sent out by more than mere posturing. The ground volunteers and not attention-grabbing, chest-thumping self-proclaimed mascots, better be interpreting, explaining and disseminating this message.
The design of the political chessboard is changing. Old moves will not work with the new design. And frankly, old moves did not work on the old board either. Delhi election was managed by BJP the way elections were managed by them before 2014. The results were little different, only worse.
Actually speaking, in the Indian political space as of now, there is BJP and then there is every other party. Theoretically, with Delhi the anti-BJP political class have found a way of holding up BJP. For BJP and its supporters, elections are battles for hope and glory. For the anti-BJP, these are battles for their own survival. They are likely to make bigger compromises and they are making such compromises.
Indians are still not averse to socialist economics, they are only averse to the old proponents of Socialism. Change the faces and socialism starts afresh. The anti-BJP political class might well find their mascot in Mr. Kejriwal with his carefully cultivated 'honest' and 'aam admi' image.
Mr. Kejriwal, the technical man, if empowered, will evidently focus exclusively on technical aspects like messaging, rather than on value aspects or actual governance. The BJP can ignore him only at its own peril. BJP will have to put its house in order and get the basics of public communication right.
I believe, any message can be registered with people provided the communication channels are operationalized and strengthened. Difficult-to-set narratives only take more persistence. AAP surged ahead from the dump truck of obsolescence to win Delhi with their persistence. However, BJP had communicated better than all others put together, during LS-2014, they can do so again. With a national presence, ever increasing membership, good governance track records, the financial and technical wherewithal and inspirational leadership, BJP is better disposed to dominate Indian political discourse.
BJP was vain as the fight for Delhi set in. It was reduced to a mere challenger, not even a credible opposition after the elections. But the debacle of vanity can give way to grace. The strengths of BJP are its internal democracy and greater responsiveness vis-a-vis other parties. It is riding on hopes and has shown promise thus far. I'm hopeful that the BJP will learn from Delhi. I'm hopeful they'll show grace. And I'm hopeful they'll win big again.
The End
(Declaration: The author is a BJP supporter, member and volunteer. The views in this article are based on news reports and on-ground experiences while campaigning during Delhi elections)
[Link to Winning Delhi: Part 2 - The Volunteer Force]
[Link to Winning Delhi: Part 3 - Channels and Methods]
Being a part of the whole comes with its own pitfalls. Weak parts of the strong whole tend to embrace complacency for confidence. This is probably what happened with BJP in Delhi. Delhi BJP does not have a reputation for being the most organized or coherent regional unit. Yet the way BJP was churning success after success, one hoped that the age of pathos in Delhi BJP would finally be done away with. This 'Hope', was the bastard of a thought trolling all BJPians on 10th Feb.
I was one to root vehemently for BJP & against AAP, with my liberal, progressive friends who make views out of "served news". I had to remove a boulder from my chest each time the phone rang that day, for it would invariably be from someone who'd be telling me what I already knew, "Kejriwal ne toh kamaal kar diya!" (Kejriwal has done amazingly well)
There are smart students who act so smart, they start looking stupid. They are so self-assured that they do not prepare the obvious questions before exams, hoping that (a) They won't be getting such obvious questions (b) By preparing for uncommon questions, they'll have something which others don't have (c) Nobody else would be preparing these questions. These are the guys who, when the results are out, claim, "I have no idea what went wrong. The examiner is a crook".
The obvious and most basic thing to do for BJP was to set-up, strengthen and effectively use its communication channels viz Mainstream Media (through spokespersons), Social Media and the foot-soldiers. None of these required any painstaking efforts from BJP. BJP was infact guilty of not doing more of the same.
Sprucing up Channels:
- For MSM, BJP has always boasted of some of the best debaters as their spokespersons. With a hostile media working against them, the likes of the feisty Meenakshi Lekhi and Smriti Irani were sorely missed. The new generation of BJP spokespersons, as opined by many BJP supporting observers, looked rather fatigued and defensive on TV debates. They could not counter such obvious lies as the 10 Lakh worth pin-striped suit or the manufactured rancor over Ms. Bedi's 'lying about towing the PM's car'.
- On Social Media, BJP's IT/Samvad Cells had successfully taken the good work done in Gujrat to people. This was when MSM was so uncharitable to BJP, that it would report none of Gujrat's achievements. IT/Samvad cells came up with achievement summaries, comparisons, charts, graphs, data, slides etc that highlighted the good work done in Gujrat. These helped ordinary BJP supporters in supporting BJP with more conviction and winning debates. Very little of this has continued since LS-2014. As of now, the only information circulated in support of BJP is that which the media reports in some obscure corner of their bulletins.
- LS-2014 had seen massive mobilization of foot-soldiers. Some very innovative and highly successful programs like "NaMo Chai Party" were organized nationwide. In the run up to Delhi elections, willing & eager volunteers were wondering when the party would summon them for campaign. By the time they were summoned, they barely had 15 days in hand while AAP had already campaigned for more than 3 months by then. Further, I can imagine no good reason why a successful program like NaMo Chai Party would not be replicated in states going for elections.
Identifying the right narrative:
Suggestion makers outside BJP have been critical of decision makers inside BJP over their campaign narrative, with many conflicting notions. Some see excessive Hindutva in BJP, some see a lack of it. Some were heard warning BJP against a negative campaign in future. Such dissonance in views only suggests that the BJP did not have any identifiable narrative for the Delhi elections. In my opinion, these suggestions by themselves are mono-causal, reductionist, arguably agenda-driven, simplistic and only partially helpful if at all.
Delhi was won over by a party which owes its existence to negative campaigns. Those suggesting BJP against negative campaigns probably want to shield their favorites from being critiqued while they keep pounding on BJP. That said, campaigns, whether negative or positive, have to be timed well. One should learn the art from evangelists and communists. They attack, criticize and try to debunk the standing beliefs and create affective vacuum in their target audience.. Then they fill it with their own world view. 15 days of haphazard campaigning was just not enough for BJP to achieve this. The best they could do in 15 days were negative campaigns and hope Modi's image gave the positive push. It didn't work.
As for Hindutva, anyone who suggests BJP against it, does not want BJP to win. With not more than 20% students going for Higher education in India (GER as of 2013-14), the prospect of attracting people with Right Wing macroeconomic principles is limited. On the other hand, Indians do not need to be taught to understand Socialist economics. It's simple - "You need freebies, freebies are your right, WE will get you freebies, vote for us". But then, people, more-so the simpletons, relate with the pride of being Hindu. Hindutva, is the answer to socialist propaganda even as people take their time to come to terms with macroeconomic considerations.
During the campaign, I talked to auto-walas, rickshaw-walas, wage labourers etc, other than house-owning middle classes. Freebies made sense to all. I would frequently come off as insensitive to poor while pushing hard to explain why freebies are bad, but they all related with the Hindu pride. They all accepted that AAP was trying hard to appease minorities. It struck a chord.
It is also noteworthy that a resurgent India needs not just change, but also progress and not just progress but also pride. The strains of Hindu revival as evident on SM, are spearheaded by the upsurging, aspirational, young enthusiastic middle-class men and women. Cultural nationalism appeals to all those who seek pride in their being. That said, the dominant messengers of the day are still left leaning. Subtlety in passing the message and avoiding unnecessary acrimony and bad press should be the key. Minorites must be assured that Hindutva is not directed against them. Hindutva is inclusive of them and is rather happy to have them share its legacy. In the age of accountability, people need messages sent out by more than mere posturing. The ground volunteers and not attention-grabbing, chest-thumping self-proclaimed mascots, better be interpreting, explaining and disseminating this message.
Development was the key to winning LS-2014 and development agenda should be the most prominent message sent across all communication channels. It appeals to all classes, sections, regions and cultures that make India. Development alone, and not appeasement or apology as practiced by the self-certified secular parties, will help win over whatever minority support the BJP might get. Delhi BJP bungled by having a high-level vision document rather than a well-researched manifesto, that too at the eleventh hour. The electorate might not read the manifesto, but an absence of one does tell people that enough thought has not been put in. It gives the contenders opportunities to portray BJP as presumptuous, over-confident and taking people for granted.
Looking back, learning forth:
Looking back, learning forth:
The design of the political chessboard is changing. Old moves will not work with the new design. And frankly, old moves did not work on the old board either. Delhi election was managed by BJP the way elections were managed by them before 2014. The results were little different, only worse.
Actually speaking, in the Indian political space as of now, there is BJP and then there is every other party. Theoretically, with Delhi the anti-BJP political class have found a way of holding up BJP. For BJP and its supporters, elections are battles for hope and glory. For the anti-BJP, these are battles for their own survival. They are likely to make bigger compromises and they are making such compromises.
Indians are still not averse to socialist economics, they are only averse to the old proponents of Socialism. Change the faces and socialism starts afresh. The anti-BJP political class might well find their mascot in Mr. Kejriwal with his carefully cultivated 'honest' and 'aam admi' image.
Mr. Kejriwal, the technical man, if empowered, will evidently focus exclusively on technical aspects like messaging, rather than on value aspects or actual governance. The BJP can ignore him only at its own peril. BJP will have to put its house in order and get the basics of public communication right.
I believe, any message can be registered with people provided the communication channels are operationalized and strengthened. Difficult-to-set narratives only take more persistence. AAP surged ahead from the dump truck of obsolescence to win Delhi with their persistence. However, BJP had communicated better than all others put together, during LS-2014, they can do so again. With a national presence, ever increasing membership, good governance track records, the financial and technical wherewithal and inspirational leadership, BJP is better disposed to dominate Indian political discourse.
BJP was vain as the fight for Delhi set in. It was reduced to a mere challenger, not even a credible opposition after the elections. But the debacle of vanity can give way to grace. The strengths of BJP are its internal democracy and greater responsiveness vis-a-vis other parties. It is riding on hopes and has shown promise thus far. I'm hopeful that the BJP will learn from Delhi. I'm hopeful they'll show grace. And I'm hopeful they'll win big again.
The End
(Declaration: The author is a BJP supporter, member and volunteer. The views in this article are based on news reports and on-ground experiences while campaigning during Delhi elections)
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