Elections 2011 – jo jeeta woh Sikandar

BY NUPUR BASU| IN Media Practice | 15/05/2011

By 9.50 am Arnab Goswami on Times Now had already granted the LDF victory : "We can put our neck out on this one..LDF is winning in Kerala- Prakash Karat did not support VS, what will happen to him?"

NUPUR BASU on television’s excited reporting of the Assembly election results

If the run up to any elections in India is full of theatrics and colour, the day of the results holds its own share of high drama like any box - office pot boiler. May 13 was one of those days. After all which medium is better- equipped to bring the minute- to- minute victories and heartbreaks than 24x7 television- - the medium best cut out for immediate gratification of all sensory delights and nightmares. Electronic counting which brings the results thick and fast (unlike in the old days when ballots had to physically counted) is also a perfect fit for the electronic media that has insatiable appetite for “Breaking News”.

The early risers on TV started from 7 am and others followed by 8..and thereafter the 24x7 Vote 2011 Verdict Juggernaut went on relentlessly past midnight. Five states spread across the North East (Assam), one state in the East (West Bengal) and three states in the South (Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry) and all the verdicts generated enough excitement to fill all the multiple channels . Had the media got it right about the winners and losers? Had the psephologists got it their numbers right this time ? This was the moment of Truth not only for the political parties in the contest but surely the media and poll pundits also.

Phrases like “Gamechangers”, ”Buck the Trend”, “Winning streak”, “Giant Killers”, ”Shock Waves”, ”Major Major victory” were seen flying off anchors’ lips like slings from an arrow..and the age old Bollywood terminology “Jo jeeta wohi Sikandar” wasgoing to set the tone of all coverage and debates.

In the early hours the focus was on Kerala as the LDF alliance showed early gains and Chief Minister V S Achutanandan was quickly hailed as the architect of this possible victory . By 9.50 am Arnab Goswami on Times Now had already granted the LDF victory : “We can put our neck out on this one..LDF is winning in Kerala- Prakash Karat did not support VS, what will happen to him?” . Arnab went onto add that “It is bitter sweet irony that the Left in Bengal may be losing power in 34 years and in Kerala the LDF is winning a second term after 34 years!” Mahesh Rangarajan was saying “Old is Gold” in describing VS (in an obvious barb to Rahul Gandhi’s misplaced comment on VS’s age) .M A Baby, Minister in the LDF government on a VSAT interview down the line from Kerala was nodding and smiling vigorously and laying the victory at the door of “our beloved Chief Minister”.

On NDTV however, Prannoy Roy was saying that “Till the last result is declared we will not who will win in Kerala “ He also said in such a neck and neck fight the independents could become Kingmakers. On CNN-IBN Rajdeep Sardesai was saying “the real fight is in Kerala’.

Unfortunately for VS and for all those who supported India’s only Chief Minister in India who has come to be known as a relentless crusader against corruption , in the later hours ,the UDF alliance managed to just about scrape past the LDF alliance in the southern state.

Further up the country in the East , Bengal was in the throes of a tornado named Mamata. As early as 9.15 Monideepa Bannerjee who has covered West Bengal politics since NDTV started its news operations reported on a “Giant bouquet” that had been carried into Mamata’s house and even got down to the business of discussing the possible names doing the rounds for the new Trinamool government. You don’t need to be a psephologist to predict what a good journalist, who keeps their ear to the ground can. Monideepa reported with the confidence of a veteran.

The excitement and chaos outside the narrow alley leading to Mamata’s much talked about simple house was palpable through the screen. A sea of humanity with green gulal on their faces and with the sound of the familar Shonkho (conch) playing to mark the victory of TMC..Mamata finally emerged just before noon to address the media wiping tears of joy. Her emotive address thanking “Bengal, India and the World and Ma, Maati, Manush” (Mother,Land and Man) culminated with the same lines that astronaut Rakesh Sharma had uttered when he was asked to comment on how India looked from outer space. Mamata firmly perched on a stool outside her door and very much with her feet on Bengal uttered the same inspirational words :“Sara Jahan se Accha..Hindustan hamaara”.

NDTV’s Barkha Dutt during an interview with Mamata said :“ Some people are describing your victory over the Left as the Fall of the Berlin Wall !” This inspired Mamata to take the hyperbole one step further: “This is the second independence on Bengal!” Right through the one to one with Mamata Bannerji , Barkha addressed her as “Didi” , leaving one wondering about this new trend of addressing politicians . Imagine a reporter calling Obama in the US or Putin in Russia – “uncle Obama” or “uncle Putin” (since there is no equivalent of didi or dada in the English language !)

The didi syndrome continued on CNN-IBN too. In a post victory satellite interview Rajdeep asked her: “Momotadi-what will you do tonight ? Will you paint? Will you listen to Tagore ? Will you please recite your favourite Tagore poem for us ?” Momotadi gave a coy smile and obliged with Tagore’s famous poem :” When the mind is without fear and the head is held high...” Rajdeep ended the segment exclaiming :“ Who says woman power does not pay !” CNN-IBN also kept running a slug saying they had got the poll predictions bang on.

CNBC ran a headline which said “Bengal turns from Red to Green” and flashes a soundbite of Mamata’s where she exclaims “ Land should smile and industry should smile”. Not only the Trinamool supremo been painting these days , she has also been clearly inspired by her Muse.

Just as those who had won could indulge in poetic interludes as they soaked in their sweet victory, for those swallowing a bitter defeat, the mood was clearly dark. On Sagarika Ghose’s programme on CNN-IBN , Atul Kumar Singh Anjan ,CPI leader, indulged in a loud verbal duel with journalist Subir Bhaumik . When Bhaumik grilled him on how the Left had been in denial saying: ”Till yesterday your party Chairman was saying psephologists have taken money to say Left is losing Bengal! ” Atul Kumar retorted :”You keep praying that the Left should lose everywhere” adding “what do you know...you do not have to go and ask five people to vote for you, you only have to write one article!”

When historian Ram Guha suggested that the Left needs a makeover in a social democratic mode- Atul Kumar shot back:” My friend why don’t you start a Social Democratic Party – you can attract many young people to it!”. Guha dismissed the suggestipn with a smile. Adding insult to injury, Sagarika persisted: “Will the Left now take the portraits of Stalin and Lenin off the party walls?” Again Atul Kumar retorted : “Many portraits from abroad are coming in the media establishments as well! ”The slanging match reached such a crescendo that the anchor had to literally pacify Atul by saying “Atulji why do you treat anyone who criticises you with such scorn ? You must look inwards.”

On the evening bulletins Biman Bose was seen an equally anti media stance in the press conference he held : “I do not have to answer your question just to satisfy your channel” ,he remarked repeatedly to questions posed to him..leaving one wondering why he held the press conference to begin with. When Prannoy Roy asked Nilotpal Basu “What was the ONE thing that went wrong for the Left?” ,Basu replied : “As you go along aspirations of the people increase and there is little elbow room for the states not on the paradigm of liberalisation- also it is all about perception”.

There were discussions on law and order in Bengal in coming days following TMC victory and journalist Manini Chatterjee said she thought that the Left should hold out the olive branch to Mamata to bring down the temperatures and also make amends for the unsavoury comments some of their leaders had made on her in the run up to the polls.

Down South , the state in the epicentre of all the news in recent months on the 2G scam was witnessing another Tsunami. The image of a lone Jayalalitha in a maroon sari ,walking on her balcony savouring her landslide victory ,will remain an endearing one. In total contrast to the high pitched Mamata ,this convent educated former actress held a press conference in the low tone of a triumphant victor. With her Jaya TV mikes in prime position among the galaxy of television microphones on the podium before her the AIADMK chief said :“We have to clear the debris the DMK have left behind and rebuild the state again as we have done time and again in the past” According to NDTV’s Sanjay Pinto it may start with the new Secretariat that Jayalalitha has described as a “ policeman’s hat”!

The AIADMK victory sparked off immediate reactions like the following from studio guests: Shashi Kumar: ” Congress can win over Jaya now”, Meghnad Desai:” Congress must dump DMK!” , Prabhu Chawla:”They won’t drop DMK- good politics is stable governance, corruption is not the only issue” and Cho Ramaswamy:“If Congress wants to go with the ignominy they can stay with DMK, it depends on what image Congress wants to have for itself!”

If one surfed to the bouquet of channels run by the DMK led by Sun TV, they had interestingly started beaming serials and films and non stop dances to Tamil film songs...talk about the Left being in denial ..the DMK had taken a page out of it too. Jaya TV probably had other calculations when it started showing an old Jaya MGR movie after her press conference.

The landslide victories of both Jaya and Mamata sparked off television slugs of “Women rule”, “Woman Power” and there were references made to how Jaya, Mamata and Mayawati were single women without apparent heirs and whether that made them endearing to the voters. Once again the media here underestimating voters (voters are less likely to look at the private lives of their politicians unlike the media) and also the fact that in some of these victories there is a TINA factor (in Tamil Nadu the voters have a choice between only the DMK and AIADMK- if they reject one, they have to choose the other). Manini Chatterje’s comment on Mamata was effective though: “We must grant it to her that she has come into politics without being anyone’s daughter, wife or companion!”.

The day’s blooper award goes to Rajdeep for calling Tarun Vijay, Tarun Gogoi...smilingly confessed by Rajdeep himself. “Sorry , Tarun Vijay for calling you Tarun Gogoi !” It was one time that Tarun Vijay did not mind being mistaken for a Congressman. Since BJP had little to be pleased about in the 2011 verdict,this faux pas too provided some relief. Even otherwise BJP friendly journalists like Prabhu Chawla remarked: “ The BJP never allowed local leadership to work anywhere”.

For me ,the the most original line on 24x7 television on counting day, however, came from Mamata Banerjee . With microphone in hand propped up outside her house she said in Bengali to her supporters jostling outside :”Aapnara jaan ebar and anyader aashte din – jaan bari jan, aar chaan korun!” (All those of you gathered outside now you please go and let the others get a chance to come here – you go home and have a bath !)

Trust a woman politician to think of the basics !