Political Campaigns and Elections in India
September 12, 2014
The general elections 2014 could well be remembered for the way Narendra Modi campaigned. His sabre-rattling did take the wind out of his opposition’s sails and this was reflected in the end result. He demolished opposition who cried hoarse over the style of his campaigning and alleged use of (black?) money to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore!
According to Modi’s detractors, his campaigns often tested the limits of election laws too that provide two weeks of electioneering period to every candidate contesting the election and a stipulated amount for such campaigns. (Also remember the BJP releasing its manifesto on an election date and Modi flaunting the Lotus before television cameras outside a polling booth even when voting was in process).
According to Modi’s detractors, his campaigns often tested the limits of election laws too that provide two weeks of electioneering period to every candidate contesting the election and a stipulated amount for such campaigns. (Also remember the BJP releasing its manifesto on an election date and Modi flaunting the Lotus before television cameras outside a polling booth even when voting was in process).
Modi’s Hi-tech Trend – Setter Campaign
For months together till the election time, Modi was on a campaigning blitzkrieg across mediums. He seemed omnipresent with his larger-than-life cut outs and posters in every nook and corner, front page photos in newspapers, jet-propelled election rallies and aggressive use of micro-blogging and social networking websites, mobile phones television interviews and radio advertisements.
His carefully crafted alliterated catchwords and catchy election slogans such as “Ab ki baar, Modi Sarkaar” (It will be Modi’s government this time), “Congress Mukt Bharat (Congress-free India) and “Ache din aane wale hai” (Better days are round the corner) did attract the attention of the people along with his 10-foot-tall 3-D holographic projections – to simultaneously be present at 150 locations – a first in national elections though Modi had already used it during his 2012 state Assembly campaign in Gujarat. (The only other politician to have thus far used this technology is Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who addressed regional members of his party via holographic projection). There were over 230 television commercials in multiple languages and even the gimmicky concept of chai pe charcha (‘deliberating over tea’) gathered enough steam.
Marketing Brand Modi
Wasn’t it all about creation and marketing of Brand Modi (as the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate)? And as the Modi brand outsold others, it successfully transformed Indian election campaigns into a media marketing and branding campaign with the engagement of some of the best brains in advertising to pen the BJP anthem) and coin catchy taglines. Never before the tenor of any election was communication this sharply focused on any individual.
But was such an extravaganza necessary at a time when the chips were already perceived to be down for the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) following a strong anti-incumbency factor?
Modi’s US Style of Poll Campaigning
Since Modi’s campaign more often than not is being compared to the US Presidential style of campaigning, it seems imperative to analyse it in that context.
Over centuries, poll campaigning has evolved in the USA. The campaigning there focuses on
- Civic engagement through political discourses;
- Issues that need to be highlighted;
- Reconfirming the choices of the voters based on their political awareness, likes and dislikes.
Modi’s campaign did comprise these basic and time tested ‘American’ ingredients. He did engage his audience and dwelled on issues that concerned them.
There has been a long drawn debate on whether campaigns really influence the voter’s mind because poll forecasters such as Alan Abramowitz, a political science professor at Emory University, James E. Campbell of the State University of New York, have correctly predicted for decades now, an election outcome several months ahead of the election day when campaigns were yet to be launched. Economist and author of Predicting Presidential Elections and Other Things, Ray C. Fair, too correctly modelled 21 of the 24 US elections since 1916 with a method that combines “economic growth, inflation and the effect of incumbency”.
Studies in the US though have shown that campaigns specifically help voters learn about economy and party stances – constantly required to predict results.
Economic Aspects of Election Campaigning
Do poll campaigns require such a huge amount as was perceived to be spent this election in India? The question assumes significance also because studies have shown that poll outcomes are controlled largely by factors beyond any candidate’s control for the simple reason that even the best managed and most effective campaign cannot guarantee a win!
Besides, such huge spending does impact our economy. Studies have shown that Indian economy typically slows down ahead of Lok Sabha elections and a 2002 World Bank study found that “politicians manipulate fiscal policies…to provide targeted favours to specific interest groups, possibly in exchange for campaign support.”
The “India Shining” campaign of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance in 2004 could be another case in point. With the NDA at the helm under the charismatic and popular Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2004, the move to pre-pone the general elections to capitalise on the perceived winnability of the ruling conglomerate and the resulting campaign overdrive failed miserably and the NDA lost the elections!
Modi Relied on Engaging Voters
Obviously, voters’ preferences can mar any political campaign and it is in this context that Modi’s campaign was remarkable. While campaigning he was careful not to indulge into persuasion, for persuading voters to change their minds and vote for him could never have clicked in a highly polarised poll environment along communal lines. He chose the other option—to engage those who were confused to make up their mind.
For this he needed a high decibel campaign and it did work out well for him. In the process he became a brand.
For an individual to build up what is called in marketing jargon a high Irrestibility Quotient (IQ) — didn’t it pay rich dividends? Ask Prime Minister Modi.
For an individual to build up what is called in marketing jargon a high Irrestibility Quotient (IQ) — didn’t it pay rich dividends? Ask Prime Minister Modi.
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