A media yatra in Varanasi
Was Arvind Kejriwal’s lightening visit to Varanasi, where he held a rally, announced his candidature as Narendra Modi’s challenger, took a dip in the Ganga and mounted a couple of roadshows, a success or a failure? Did he charm the people of Varanasi or did leave them unmoved? Did they attend his rally or more or less ignore it? While I was there, I kept a media diary for three days, based on what local editions of Hindi newspapers had to say. After all, they are the news life-blood of the region, especially for those who get just a few hours of power everyday. You see them in crumpled heaps at every tea-shop in the city, and on the highway. You hear them quoted everywhere in discussions. Their reporters are allegedly closer to the ground, when it comes to gathering news, than anyone else. If anyone can help me make up my mind, surely they can, right?
Day 1, March 25: My friend and I set off early by road from Lucknow to Varanasi on day of Kejriwal's rally in the temple town, armed with a. few Hindi morning newspapers picked up en route.
First read of the day: the intriguingly named Daily News Activist, whose lead story, in a three column box below the masthead, announces that the Chief Minister's dad, Mulayam Singh Yadav, is undefeatable in his family bastion, Mainpuri. Accompanying this breaking news is an interview with a smiling MSY, saying that there is no Modi wave. Err, would the Election Commission like to take a look at this paper?
Kejriwal is at the bottom of page 12, in a wire report that quotes him as tweeting that he fears violence from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers in Varanasi. Likewise, in the HT group’s Hindustan, but on page 1, and with a tagged on a comment from an estranged AAP member, Vinod Binny, that AAP wants to arrange an attack on Kejriwal in Varanasi to create sympathy for him. Is Kejri, as the headlines address him, going to be a victim or an aggressor? Not very clear.
On to the Navbharat Times (NBT) where I find a large illustration at the top of page 7 of Kejriwal driving a chariot, a la Krishna, into the Kurukshetra of Varanasi and a curtain-raiser, spread over nearly half a page, on his visit. NBT waxes eloquent about AAP’s strategy to reach out to every section of society, from women to youth to weavers and coolies. Teams of young people from Lucknow and Delhi, and about a hundred people from Benaras Hindu University are in the field, NBT reports, campaigning door to door, performing street plays.
I am now convinced that Varanasi will be, at the very least, an extremely buzzy place to be in this evening.
But the last read of the day dashes my hopes. Dainik Jagran (DJ) says in a front page story (above the fold) that Kejriwal has not been able to find a foothold in the “raptiligallis” (slippery galis) of Kashi and his “chitpit log” (few people) are being outnumbered and outshouted by the “gaganbhedi shor” (thundering sound) of BJP workers chanting Modi-Modi. What’s more, they are getting no support from local people either. The reporter (commentator?) concludes that the BJP has pervaded the arena with so many questions for Kejriwal that it will be difficult for him to answer them.
I have done a 180 degree turn and am now totally convinced this will be a flop-show. DJ, gaganbhedi voice of the Hindi heartland, cannot be wrong.
Day 2, March 26: A rich haul of newspapers on the day after Kejriwal's rally, clearly this is one of the Hindi hubs of the world’s last surviving newspaper markets.
Now for the headlines: Modi’s challenger is not being ignored. Kejriwal is front lead, sometimes across six columns, in every newspaper. His speech announcing he will contest against Modi is copiously reported, along with prominent parallel stories on – take your pick -- “kada virodh” (stiff opposition), “teekha virodh” (sharp opposition) or “bhaari virodh” (heavy opposition) to his entry into Varanasi.
So clearly there is some buzz after all, but confusion has set in too. At the end of reading all that painfully small print in Devnagari with bad eyes, I have a few questions and as you will see below, not very good answers.
Question: How many people attended Kejriwal’s Benia Bagh rally and who were they?
Amar Ujala: “Bahar se jutai bheed” (got a crowd from outside). There were 15 to 20,000 people at his rally, but “it is being said” that only 2000 people in this crowd were from Varanasi.
Hindustan: The talk in the area in and around Benia Bagh was, “Everyone at the rally was an outsider. No one was seen going there from the area, so then, what is the point of going anyway?”
Dainik Jagran: Kejriwal stole the limelight alright, but the youth, which was seen at the forefront of his success in Delhi, were missing from his entire programme in Varanasi.
I-Next (a youth-focused tabloid from the DJ group): There were both locals and imported people…half and half of each…Whoever they were, they were full of enthusiasm… There were girls in good numbers too..
Question: So, who were all these people who opposed Kejriwal and threw ink, etc at him? Were they regular residents of the city? Were they party workers (karyakarta) or party supporters (samarthak)?
Dainik Jagran: People greeted him in numbers but he also had to deal with eggs, ink, and black flags. Arvind Kejriwal was astonished to see these two sides of the nagarwasis (residents) of Varanasi."
Hindustan: “He met with stiff resistance from the supporters (samarthak) of the BJP and the Hindu Yuva Vahini.
Amar Ujala (very small item): “Four workers (karyakarta) of the Hindu Yuva Vahini were released on personal bonds late on Tuesday evening after being arrested for breaking the security ring and throwing ink at Kejriwal’s roadshow.”
Last question: Why has no newspaper quoted a single person from Varanasi, present at the rally? My friend and I were there too, and we met many people who had jobs and businesses in the city hanging around at the maidan and avidly discussing the rally after it was over. Surely they would have obliged the city’s leading papers with a quote or two?
Day 3, March 27: The big news, today, is that Kejriwal is now a term of abuse, in the august company of AK Antony and the AK-49 rifle. DJ’s top story, in a four col box below the masthead, is Modi calling him and the others Pakistani agents.
Other papers have showcased either the Pakistani agent story, too, or the Supreme Court criticising the state government on the Muzzafarnagar riots. Kejriwal’s media sun is clearly setting.
Since I could not make it to Kejri's second roadshow, and did not watch TV either, I am like all those people with power cuts, totally dependent on newspapers to figure out how it went.
The good news is that everyone covered it. The bad news is, I couldn’t figure out how it went.
This is why:
I-Next: Kashi Ne Dekha Kejri Ka Jaadu: The magic of the Aam Admi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s presence was felt in the city on the second day too. During his roadshow, crowds braved the extreme heat to catch a glimpse of him…People were visibly thrilled to shake his hand, to put a garland around him, or to welcome him…Some people did try to oppose him with black flags but due to the strength of the police presence they were not successful.
Amar Ujala Compact: Sheher Mein Virodh, Gaon Mein Swagat: Compared to the urban areas people in the rural areas gave Kejriwal a warm welcome.
Hindustan: Along with shopkeepers ordinary people were also very keen to see Kejriwal.
Rashtriya Sahara: Kejriwal Ka Flop Show: In the midst of heavy opposition, Kejriwal once again did a roadshow in the urban and rural areas of Varanasi. There were large numbers of luxury cars and bikes in his roadshow, even though the administration had given permission for only five…During the roadshow, in both the city and the rural areas, Kejriwal faced hostile slogans…The poor response in the rural areas left Kejriwal and other AAP politicians surprised.
Jansandesh Times: You could see a craze for Kejriwal in the rural areas during his roadshow.
And so on, and so forth…A media yatra in Varanasi with no enlightenment at the end.