Earlier this week, the GST Council held its 56th meeting in New Delhi. Taxes have been revised on household products, cars, beverages and electronics amongst other items. For a student of political communication, this week has been fodder. The language used to describe these reforms has been nothing short of grand. "Landmark". "Biggest ever since the 1990s". Hyperbole. Those in the Opposition have been advocating for such 'reforms' for eight years now - both in and outside Parliament. Just one example is the tax on medical and health insurance. And yet the Union Government, with its cheerleaders in the media, have been ramping up the changes as if they are the biggest ever to happen since Dr Manmohan Singh's economic reforms of the mid-1990s. Amusing. Here are some other thoughts on narratives that played out recently:
Lesson One: Narrative Manufacture
Did you notice that the Home Minister of India, Amit Shah, chose to give a 45 minute interview to a news agency, just after the Parliament session concluded? Did the Modi coalition cede the narrative to the Opposition during the monsoon session? And that's why there was a need to fix it ASAP?
Within just a few minutes into the 'interview', Mr Home Minister's defensive opening remark was a dead giveaway: "Through your medium, I would like to inform the people of the country, what exactly is the 130th Constitutional Amendment.".
In the month-long Parliament session, the Opposition raised some critical issues. The undemocratic nature of Special Intensive Revision. The Vice President's inexplicable resignation overnight. And, finally, the manner in which the 130th Constitutional Amendment was introduced on the very last day of session. To each of the Government's tactics (from legislating with stealth, to bringing on marshals, to brazen stonewalling) the Opposition pushed back with legitimate parliamentary devices: notices, questions, motions. When the score line doesn't look good at the conclusion of a Parliament session, shift the action to the television studio on the receiving end of soft questions. The 130th Constitutional Amendment was too hot to handle on the floor of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Opposition unity was on steroids. Sustained pressure. In his desperation, Mr Shah even evoked stalwarts of Indian politics during the interview. LK Advani. BS Yediyurappa. George Fernandes. The result? Failure. Six major opposition political parties are boycotting the formation of the Joint Parliamentary Committee towards the 130th Constitutional Amendment. With his furrowed brows, defensive answers and visible discomfort, the body language was diametrically opposite to what the Opposition was in Parliament - confident, focused and united.
Lesson Two: Narrative Deflection
Bihar goes to election in the next 90 days. Crucial time. Political parties, leaders, agencies, and election consultants are crunching data sets and looking for ways to win the minds of the voter. In the whirlwind of campaign ideas, one evoked considerable interest on ground: the Voter Adhikar Yatra. The concept was simple enough: vote theft through SIR. Opposition parties joining in at different stages of the fortnight-long march through districts of Bihar, bolstered the campaign.
Since the Yatra concluded, multiple attempts have been made to play up the allegations of the Prime Minister being abused on the campaign stage. Clips on social media, emotional bytes, crocodile tears. Everything goes. Victim card.
Lesson Three: Narrative Ownership
A month ago, a senior yet youthful MP from the Opposition, did an interview (podcast) with a television anchor of a legacy media channel. Candid enough, light hearted enough, minimal grilling mixed with brushstrokes of the more important issues. The podcast was released on the legacy media channel's YouTube page. All the standard podcast markings were there: intimate set-up, close camera angles, longer format. The video did well in pulling viewership. Now a contrast. The same day, the same politician did a podcast interview with an independent platform on Youtube. Standard markings were still all present. This time, viewership had another story to tell. Views on the digital only channel's podcast were one hundred times more than the legacy media channel. Indeed, there are ample platforms from where a politician can amplify his/her message. The onus is on the neta to make the right call.
P.S. Forty years ago, if I had the option to select a college degree beyond political science, history or English literature, I would have picked mass communications. Who knows, these notes might have impressed a professor. Just might have.
(Additional research credit: Varnika Mishra)
(Derek O'Brien, MP, leads the Trinamool Congress in the Rajya Sabha)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
