Karnataka poll results: Can media save Modi’s image?

It was expected that the mainstream media would ignore the defeat of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. It was also known that the media would help them discover an alibi to escape the embarrassment. They did it devoutly by throwing all the norms of journalism to the wind. These norms include questioning the functionaries of the ruling BJP for the humiliating defeat it encountered in Karnataka when the 2024 elections are only a year away. The defeat becomes all the more significant for the reason that the Prime Minister campaigned almost alone. Most of the seats he campaigned for were lost. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has become one of the prominent faces of Hindutva, and the BJP uses him frequently to polarize voters. He also could not succeed in wooing the voters. He campaigned in nine constituencies, but the BJP could win only two of them. Most of all, Home Minister Amit Shah, and an RSS representative in the BJP, BL Santosh, were directly managing the elections. They all failed in Karnataka.

The media and the pollsters have miserably failed in their endeavour to create a positive environment in the Karnataka elections. Now, they are trying to save the image of the Prime Minister. This must be the most difficult task so far. The BJP could manage to save its face in state elections after 2014 on one or another ground. Recent examples include elections in the northeastern states. The BJP could win only Tripura, and that too with a lower share of votes compared to the last elections. The overall percentage the BJP could fetch in Tripura and Meghalaya - was 20 per cent. It joined hands to form the government in Meghalaya with a party that they had termed the most corrupt during the poll campaign. This unimpressive performance could not deter the Prime Minister from addressing a victory rally at party headquarters. He has been addressing these rallies after not winning a decisive victory because he knows how to turn a near majority into a clear majority. The most important aspect of the Karnataka election results is that the BJP has failed to save its face. So, the responsibility has fallen upon anchors and experts on TV channels. They have discovered the logic. They are claiming that the BJP has lost because the Janata Dal-Secular could not perform according to expectations. Another reason they are putting forward is the polarization of Muslim voters. They are also blaming the Guarantee Card issued to voters, which promises them some free benefits for women, poor people, and unemployed youth.

Let us start discussing the so-called freebies. This is the most undemocratic term used in recent times. The Prime Minister has already criticized this in his earlier speeches. He has described it as a bad culture. However, his assertions are contradictory. He has himself been highlighting how his government has been feeding 800 million people by providing them with free cereal. In the Karnataka elections too, the BJP promised free cereals and milk. How can it criticize, freebies promised by Congress? What the media and poll experts are trying to hide is the failure of Hindutva to polarize voters in a state where there is a history of such polarizations. The BJP and the Sangh Parivar had been working on it well before the elections were announced. We should remember the Hizab and Halal controversy. Then there was the controversy over Tipu Sultan. None of these could work. The BJP has also not done that impressively in coastal Karnataka.

This is also interesting to observe how the media did not waste any time distracting the people from the most important incident of recent times - the results of Karnataka. Reporters did not rush to the BJP leaders. Instead, they started to cover developments in Congress. The party that has been largely ignored during elections all of a sudden has come into the glare of cameras. The coverage is so extensive that minute-by-minute coverage of the movements of former Chief Minister Siddharmaiya and PCC Chief DK Shivakumar has been done. Even their formal meetings with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge are being shown as disputes and factional fights. The entire state of Karnataka knew that Congress would make Siddharmaiya the chief minister. It allowed the media to distract from what has been going on in the BJP. The media has just ignored the fact that the BJP is facing a great crisis. It is not easy for the bosses -Modi and Shah - to reconcile the fact that, with resources and support from the media, they defeated a party with few resources and less efficient election machinery. The latter had all the support of institutions. The Election Commission took no action on Prime Minister Modi’s chanting "Bajrang Bali Ki Jai". It did not ask Home Minister Shah to speculate that riots would engulf the State if the Congress came to power.

However, all these distractions are aimed at saving the image of the Prime Minister. This is necessary for the 2024 elections. His image has to be protected at any cost until the next Lok Sabha elections. This is necessary for the 2024 elections. The Prime Minister had put all his energies into asking voters to believe his promise of the best governance under a double-engine government in the state. Despite this claim which was against the federal character of the constitution and a communal card, the BJP lost badly. Will it not affect his image? However, all the anchors are trying to make us believe the election results have not made any dent in his image.

The crisis in the BJP has started to surface. One of the most vocal ministers in the Modi cabinet, Kirna Rijiju, lost his portfolio to a relatively lightweight politician from Rajasthan, Arjun Meghwal. Is it a small event that the man who was taking on the higher judiciary, judges, and the legal system has been shunted?

(The author is a senior journalist. He has experience of working with leading newspapers and electronic media including Deccan Herald, Sunday Guardian, Navbharat Times and Dainik Bhaskar. He writes on politics, society, environment and economy)