 "BJP-Congress")
Suresh Agrawal does not tire of repeating Abki baar, Modi sarkar to friends, on social media and during interaction with clients. Originally from Sahibganj in Jharkhand, Agrawal works with a leading real estate company in the National Capital Region. He confesses he has been completely taken in by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) campaign slogan, “Har Bharatwasi jeetega (Every Indian will win)”.
“I speak to a number of customers every day and most of the conversations conclude with a sense of hope that things will change once Narendra Modi becomes prime minister. Hum Modiji ko lane wale hai, achche din aane wale hai (another BJP slogan that promises people better times after Modi’s victory)’ is what we believe in,” says Agrawal.
He is not the only one convinced by the BJP’s slogans. Patna-based businessman Pranav Sinha, too, is hopeful of a change with Modi’s victory.
“Even if he does 50 per cent of what he has done in Gujarat, India will be a winner. I have absolutely no doubt about it,” Sinha says.
A Noida-based software professional who refused to be named goes one step further and says he expects a deluge of job offers once Modi comes to power. “With the economy in bad shape, I am stuck in a job I do not like for six years. I will go job hunting once Modi comes to power.”
The middle class is betting big on a Modi victory in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. And they share their enthusiasm through campaign slogans. “Abki baar, Modi sarkar,” in all its variations-—some official and many more not-—is one of the most repeated slogans during this election.
The Congress slogans, on the other hand, are rarely heard in conversation. “The Congress’ slogans are apologies for the United Progressive Alliance government,” says noted social scientist Shiv Vishwanathan. “The BJP’s slogans are trim, simple and hence effective,” he adds.
Sample some of the Congress slogans: “Rajneeti nahin kajniti; Toden nahin jode; kattar soch nahin; yuva josh; nasihat nahin natije;arajakata nahin prashansan sudhar (No politics, just work; integrate rather than divide; no fundamentalism, youth vigour; results, not sermons; no anarchy, administrative reform).”
“We have a hard time convincing people about the message in these slogans. When the nasihat (instruction) is about saying no to criminals in politics and natija (result) is you give tickets to so many tainted people, how can anyone believe you?” a Patna-based Congress leader says. He refused to be identified.
Noted advertising guru Prahlad Kakkar agrees. “If I had to advise Rahul Gandhi, I would have told him to get rid of all
the old guard in the party. He should have started with new talent and that would have been unstoppable. His campaign would have looked credible then,” he observes.
The BJP’s campaign slogans, conveyed through newspapers, television channels, FM radio stations and social media,
on the other hand, have focused on public resentment on rising prices, women’s safety and corruption.
Sample these: “Hamari betiyon ko suraksha na dene walon, janta maaf nahin karegi (People will not forgive those who cannot keep our daughters safe)”; “Mehangai ko lagatar badhane walon, janta maaf nahin karegi (People will not forgive those responsible for rising prices)”.
And campaigns shown repeatedly on television during the recently concluded T-20 World Cup cricket tournament went for the jugular. While No faltu dharna, no time wasting yaar (no unnecessary sit-ins, no wasting time) was aimed at the Aam Aadmi Party, Bina captain ki team khayegi maar (a team without a captain is doomed) was directed at the Congress for its refusal to name its prime ministerial candidate ahead of the elections.
“There is no denying this has been one of the most bitterly contested elections with no one refraining from personal attacks. What has given the BJP campaign an edge is that it simultaneously talks about desh—the concerns facing the country,” observes Kakkar.
He adds that through the campaign, the BJP has put across the message that Modi stands for law and order, for governance and for the Gujarat model of development. However, social scientists caution that the reach of campaign slogans is limited and a seemingly effective campaign alone may not swing votes.
“Campaign slogans are fine. But there is a large section of the population who do not take slogans seriously. What matters to them is the record of parties, not rhetoric. And local factors play an important role in deciding electoral outcomes – local issues, suitability of candidates and the social equation,” says Sanjeer Alam of the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies.
