Modi wave sweeps the turncoats - Arnab, Pranoy and others

Gautam Mukherjee  writes

As it becomes increasingly clear that the next Government will in all probability be a BJP-led NDA regime, much of the mainstream English Press can be seen discarding its long-held, pro-Congress tilt

The latest poll from the NDTV stable has produced a clear majority, with 275 seats for the BJP-led NDA for the very first time. The BJP, by itself, is seen to be bagging 226 of them. This showing underlines the efficacy of a long and arduously run campaign by the party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

The Congress and its friends laughed at his early efforts for many months before realising that he was on his way to turfing them out, that he meant every word of his dream of a Congress- Mukt Bharat. They laughed again and hurled insults when Mr Modi and party president Rajnath Singh announced Mission 272. And even harder when the duo revised it to 300 and then to 325.

But, as the opinion polls started reflecting a BJP/NDA success, they stopped laughing long enough to pour scorn on the polls themselves. And now, the ruling Gandhis, mother, son, and daughter, in an utter state of panic, are spewing venom in a King Canute-like effort to stop the Modi wave.

This latest poll, however means, given possible additional joiners, such as the AIADMK, the TMC and the BJD in the post-poll stage — all keen on Union Government largesse — that the enhanced NDA could even garner a two-thirds majority.

And if the next Government does command such numbers, it will be much easier for the NDA to get on with the modernisation, development, and enrichment of India, as promised. Mr Modi’s own emphasis on ‘less Government and more governance’ will also be easier to implement.

What a difference this will make in this era of push-and-pull coalitions! In Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure, he had to manage some 40 allies. It is a wonder that Mr Vajpayee managed as well as he did, while still delivering a series of stellar achievements.

But now, we can expect rapid progress when the new Government is formed. The over 800 million strong electorate, in its wisdom, is justifying the faith of the founding fathers in universal franchise and democracy once again. We are to have a strong and stable Government.

Having said all this, more than a few people are a little suspicious of an NDTV commissioned poll showing such good news for the NDA. The polls, being conducted on a monthly basis for the channel, are showing ever better tallies, indeed the very best among similar polls, conducted by others alongside. But given NDTV’s widely perceived bias towards the Congress, these poll results, and the even tone and tenor in their exposition, is somewhat surprising. Could there be such a thing as objectivity dawning after all, or is this yet another kind of political compulsion?

Of course, it is possible that NDTV’s owner, economist and psephologist Prannoy Roy, who came to public notice as a poll analyst first in the Doordarshan era, may be for real.

He may not, after all, want to subvert his ‘first love’ with false and motivated figures. Why would he do that, if that is what he is up to? Would it be to lull the BJP into a sense of complacency in the slog overs of the last month of polling? Would it be to curry favour with the incoming new dispensation, given the parlous state of NDTV’s finances?

When a detractor turns into an overnight friend, spouting apparent ‘objectivity’, it is a little worrying. But then NDTV and its leading faces are not alone in the perceptible makeover in the last couple of months. It is becoming increasingly clear that Congress and its allies, or indeed the vaporous Third Front, will not be forming the next Government.

Mr Roy’s NDTV, celebrating 25 years of existence, is not alone in being financially stretched, and at least partially dependent on Government favour. But, given his poll results, Mr Roy may have to call in his top people, besides sundry others down the line, and tell them to go easy on their anti-BJP rhetoric going forward.

While the biased reportage is pervasive in the print media too, at the moment let us talk of a few of the leading television news channels where the election fever is playing out fast and furious.

A similar Congress-leaning worldview has long been evident in CNN-IBN, with both its top anchors having a tough time not trashing the BJP at every instance. And oddly, this has continued even after Mr Mukesh Ambani bought in substantially into the cash-strapped TV 18 group. Perhaps it is a habit difficult to change. Putative owner Raghav Bahl, however, continues to be civilised, avuncular and even-handed, as always. He wasn’t trained in NDTV, and this might be why he can see events without the usual jaundice.

A shift is becoming evident in the Time of India group’s Times Now too, though star anchor Arnab Goswami himself  has been maverick and courageous enough to keep his own brand equity credible over time. But this cannot be said about some of his helpers. Most, like himself, were, once again, schooled in the crucible of NDTV, then the only game in town. India Today-owned AajTak and Headlines Today, also prominently manned by ex-NDTV personnel, suffers the same malaise. And the ownership is also more or less pro-Congress. They too are now seen to be moderating their stance towards the BJP/NDA and Mr Modi.

Nothing it seems, succeeds like anticipated success. Secularism as a concept may be in for a revision, from its ‘pseudo-secular’ avatar to the level-playing field version according to the BJP/NDA.

And all talk of the post-Godhra violence being a defining frame in which to view Mr Modi, may soon fall into politically correct disuse, just as the myriad riots and deaths under Congress rule in different parts off the country, including Gujarat, never seem to dent its ‘secular’ credentials today. They are, in fact, rarely allowed on the table as points of comparison.

The Congress propagandist rant about it being a collective decision-maker, when it is actually run with an iron fist by a semi-literate first family, has had ruinous consequences for the nation. The public does not believe in it anymore, and books by former officials are nailing the lies in plain sight. There is yet another one, by the former Comptroller and Auditor-General, coming up after the election.

Conversely, the BJP’s pitch, made tirelessly by the charismatic and sincere Mr Modi, has struck a chord with the voting public. The BJP, from being  branded ‘communal’, ‘untouchable’ and ‘fascist’ by the Congress and its helpful publicists, is now on the cusp of leading the nation forward into an exciting new direction.