It’s all about the messaging

In simple terms – it’s all in the messaging and how deep down it has percolated. Narendra Modi loves the term ‘last mile connectivity’. And he has assiduously promoted that. And it’s the simple things like DBT, toilets, roads, water, housing, mobiles, and basic healthcare. If Modi has managed to take those benefits and the messaging his government have been talking about, to the last man, he has little to worry about.
I remember an election in the South during Indira’s time all of us thought she would lose, which she ended up winning. When journalists asked the people who they voted for and why, the answer was simple and uncomplicated: ‘Indramma’. It wasn’t the candidate or the party. The poor villager only identified her with the vote because she was was the face. And this was when very little of the basic services had reached the poorest villager.
In ten years, has Modi changed that? I think he has – at a frenetic pace. And he has shown time and again that he has no time or patience for slackers. It’s for the government and the party PR machinery to continue to reach out and do the rest. How well all of that counters the Congress narrative of ‘intolerance’ and ‘bigotry’ in each state and district is what will matter in the end. Because that is where the Congress and Opposition is going to hit them hard in the next 10 months. They have nothing else to take on the government with. And the government and the party need to confront that head-on.
You can sneer at his Mann ki Baat but what it has done is taken Modi’s messaging right down to the last man. He might claim it’s not political but who’s he kidding? Imagine the prime minister of the country calling up someone in a small town about debating something no one had heard of. And the whole country is listening. He has used the ubiquitous radio to reach the last man while we were squabbling on social media and thinking we were Tees Maar Khans.
I am only afraid of one thing – the MPs who owe their seat to Modi seem to have become complacent and arrogant. Not all, but there are many who believe winning their seat is his problem, not theirs. He keeps warning them that they need to work in their constituencies but how many do?
Just making a comment in favour of Modi or his policies on social media arent going to win a politician an election. For that he/she needs to roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Verbal wars on social media are also not going to win elections, whatever the Left-Liberal or the Right might think. Even they need to understand that abusing and trolling, often personal and vicious, isn’t really helping the cause.

Glad to see the new ruthless BJP. Hope it lasts.

I, for one, am glad to see the new BJP. They have to win 2024 at any cost, and to hell with social niceties. I hope this isn’t an aberration.

You can be politically correct, ethical and moral when the people on the other side display similar qualities. By now, it’s pretty clear those ranged against the BJP have no such sterling qualities.

I’m glad the BJP has finally overcome that psychological hurdle that it is not sacrificing its core political ideology, even as it bends its own rules of being a party with a difference to beat the Opposition at its game.

This Opposition that accuses the BJP constantly of being a washing machine, in effect, collectively runs the largest political laundromat in the world. And there are innumerable examples. Take Arvind Kejriwal. Since he entered politics, his political life has been a litany of broken promises. There is not one politician left who he has not accused of corruption and threatened to lock up. But has he? Even one?

And yet, for political expediency, he has hugged and shaken hands with all of them. He might wear the same shirt, but I am sure it goes to the laundry every other day, like his political beliefs. He’s the new Mr. Clean.

Then there’s Nitish Kumar, who runs his own laundry service that whitewashes his political ideology as he swings from right-wing to secular left-liberal at his convenience. Do you want me to mention the Yadav families of Bihar and UP? I don’t think so. The one in Bihar is preparing to spend some quality time in jail, again.

Look at the Communists who claim they have no religious ideology but send their atheist thoughts to the cleaners when they want to support parties that believe in a hardcore religious doctrine.

And finally, there’s the Congress. What do you say about India’s oldest political party?

They are the last people to lecture the BJP on political morality. From strong-arming a President to sign an Emergency proclamation to having another who was ready to sweep the floor for one of their kids, to have ‘committed’ judges, to have a battery of lawyers prepared to save their first family from corruption cases…the acts of malfeasance indulged in by the Congress are too many to mention here.

Its leaders can abuse right-wing parties, the RSS and its ideologues and then quickly slip into a dhoti, spread Vibhuti on their foreheads and fall at the feet of any God or Goddess before an election. The next day wearing skull caps, they can support politicians who hate cows enough to eat them and, with a straight face, say only they can ‘save’ the Minorities from the BJP.

Rahul Gandhi goes abroad and cavorts with all those actively engaged in anti-India activities. Then, even before he returns, his faithful advisors run his views and the dubious company he keeps through the party laundromat, and they all vanish from sight! And the 53-year-old Boy Wonder is back to showing his dimples.

And the latest circus to hit town is the Patriotic Democratic Alliance (PDA), who all run their private laundry services. Although, one of them suffered a setback just a day before when the workers at its dry cleaning service revolted. They’re having some managerial issues. Let’s see when they reopen under new management!

Kaam chalu aahey.

The more things change…

Nothing will happen to, and in, Pakistan that hasn’t already happened half a dozen times earlier.
The Pakistani army and the ISI will sit back and let the rioting continue for a while. Then when everybody is tired of burning buses and screaming ‘Free Imran’, some General will appear on TV and say ‘martial law has been imposed. Anyone seen rioting will be shot.’
The Pakistani will heave a sigh of relief that at least the violence will end. He can now go back to screwing his goats, or kidnapping Hindu girls, or writing copious Op-Ed’s about why Endia and Pakistan must play cricket, or conducting protest marches against Endian occupation of Kashmeer, or the Zionist infidels in the US and elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani elite will go back to sipping champagne and sniffing coke in their drawing rooms and reminiscing about the good old days. And plan on how to invite some Indian left liberals over so they can rub Modi’s nose to the ground.
And nobody will give a shit anymore about Imran Khan, except the loonies in the UK or the US, who will proudly continue to close down the streets in their neighbourhood.
The US and China will quickly announce that a high-level team is flying in to meet the new Martial Law Administrator and taking ties forward.
And then soon, he’ll fly up to Washington and Joe Biden will grin into the camera and announce ‘This is a man we can do business with.’
And the world will heave a sigh of relief because ‘at least the nukes are safe.’
Until the next time.

This Congress Party and Opposition can’t defeat Modi!

Am I the only one who thinks so, but do the rising decibels of foul language against Modi and other BJP leaders have anything to do with the dwindling fortunes of the Congress party and the Opposition as they get ready to take on the NDA in 2024? Since mid-2000, Congress has seen power slipping away. Modi has chipped away, state by state, dismantling the ecosystem that protects the family.

Fanning the fires of Gujarat 2002 has run its course. Corruption and cronyism accusations have fallen by the wayside. Every attempt, even the latest, to throw dirt on Modi has failed. Yesterday in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the specific allegations against Modi by Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were expunged in both Houses because they were without any basis. Attempts to link Modi and Adani fell flat. And that is frustrating the Opposition to no end. And the only way they know how to retaliate is by being abusive. They are running out of answers. The problem is all Q&As come from one source. And that’s the elephant in the room – the dynasty.

The nose and the constant reminders of ‘martyrdom’ by the family notwithstanding, NONE of the family have the charisma, the guts or the guile of Indira Gandhi to take on Modi. Congress had hoped the Bharat Jodo Yatra would do it for them. They can thump their chests all they want, but what has it achieved? It’s like SRK’s PR machinery rigging the box office returns of Pathaan even when theatres across the country run empty. So getting two-bit celebs, sidelined politicians, bureaucrats, retired generals, and a smattering of rabid Modi-haters, all with their own agendas, to walk with you is not going to change the fortunes of the party.

Even throughout the walk, the only thing consistent about Rahul Gandhi was the nonsense he spoke. And like a running tap, it flowed constantly. As his beard grew longer, so did his inanities. He’s been made to believe that the walk was a resounding success. Now that it’s ended, someone seems to have whispered to him that he needs to travel from East to West now. All the best to him!

You would think the long walk might have changed him, but no. He shot off his mouth again! The latest blooper was to call an elected chief minister a thug who doesn’t understand religion. Yogi Adityanath is also a mahant of a math, and probably understands more about religion than Rahul’s entire dynasty starting from Motilal. But hey, how does it matter when your people don’t dare to tell you that you’re damaging the party and whatever chances you have at the hustings and the political careers of all those who have tied their fortunes to it?

Yogi said a few days back that BJP will keep winning as long as Rahul is around. And it is true. That’s also why all the smart ones have unhitched themselves from the Congress gravy train. Only those who nobody else will hire and those Rajiv Gandhi once called limpets are hanging around the party. They will continue to be around long after.

Meanwhile, Rahul keeps saying that he has been questioning Modi for the past decade, but he is not giving him answers. What he doesn’t say is that the courts have answered all his questions. What unfolded on Thursday in the Rajya Sabha was an embarrassment, and the behaviour of those we call our ‘elders’ an abomination. Hooliganism was the only thing visible as the PM spoke. That he completed his speech with all the shouting in his face is a credit to the man. And the entire nation heard it. Is this how Congress and the Opposition want to defeat Modi in 2024? Is this how Rahul wants to defeat Modi? If this is their strategy, Modi has nothing to worry about.

Don’t blame a ban for your lousy movies

Forget #BoycottbollywoodCompletely the simple truth is that of all the films produced by the Mumbai film industry every year, there are just 1 or 2 that are actually worth the money spent. The rest you could walk out of in the first 10 mins or sleep through them if you insist.

And I’m not even going into the anti-Hindu narrative or any of that. That comes way down the queue. And this argument that boycotting the films hits not just the producer but the little guys who work on the sets is beginning to sound wafer thin. Because despite the flops being churned out every year, more films just keep coming don’t they? Obviously some people have shitloads of cash to keep churning out the rubbish year after year. Where’s the money coming from to produce these ‘flops’?

Gone are the days when a Raj Kapoor went bankrupt after a Mera Naam Joker and mortgaged his house to make Bobby. Or an Amitabh Bachchan walked over to Yash Chopra’s house to beg for a role because he was broke. I also know that in this day and age, the smart producer gets back his investment and some even before the film’s release.

Also, during Covid the small-time actors, the extras and the technicians were the worst hit. How many of the really big names stepped up and bailed these guys out? There were some, I’m sure. But as an industry did they ALL come together to help each other? I’m sure many died too.

Did the industry as one reach out and compensate their families? And if the industry did come together, I’m thinking, that’s a lot of money coming from one place. We’d love to hear from film journalists of such stories. It will put a more humane face to the industry.

I agree with Suniel Shetty – but only partly – on the 99% don’t take drugs bit. Frankly, I don’t care whether it’s 9 or 99. Half the city’s kids and adults are doing it so what’s so special about actors?

I’ve worked in a 5 star hotel and I’ve seen celebrities doing things that most ordinary people do – like sleeping around, falling down drunk, propositioning female and male staff, smoking banned substances, and worse. I’m not judging. It’s their money, if they want to booze, sniff or snort it away, or sleep around, how is it anyone’s concern?

But don’t blame your lousy script and wooden acting on a silly ban on social media. You guys need to know that with the influx of OTT platforms, especially those from abroad, the paying public, (mainly those who scrimp and save to watch a film or hang around outside a star’s home in the hope of catching a glimpse of them) realises pretty quickly that they are being fed rubbish round the year by the Mumbai film industry.

The days of seeing an occasional Hollywood classic or an Oscar winner are over. Now it’s 24×7 entertainment from around the globe. The good actors are hardly seen even once a year and all we see is mediocrity being churned out day after day. And if the viewer isn’t interested in stereotypes rolled out in every other film can you blame them?

Why do so many small films made on a tight budget do so well? Because they have a good story, crisp script and some really talented actors who know the fate of the film depends on them as well. And why do so many big banners fail? The word ‘ghisa-pita’ comes to mind.

So if you think a boycott call on social media in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people can affect the fate of your film your IQ is even lower than that of a 3-year-old. Look within for an answer.