No publicity is good or bad. Every publicity event now
delivers some good because it enhances the imagery in public perception by
repeating on the recall value. Value system is changing. Most values have
changed. They are not values anymore. Putting things this way may still be half
true in the social milieu of India
but it is absolutely true for the politicians and the public perception about
them in the prevailing political circumstances of India
So, irrespective of the endless discussions on the
implications of the L K Advani resignation episode, the final outcome comes to the
one foyer only, that it gave Bhartiya Janta Party and L K Advani some heavy
dose of (and required) media exposure that, until now, for the BJP,
mostly Narendra Modi or Narendra Modi related developments were getting.
This heavy media exposure that began two-three days before
the BJP National Executive in Goa (June 7-9) and built on the speculation that
Advani was opposed to Narendra Modi’s elevation as the chairman of the BJP
central election committee for the next parliamentary, scaled new highs as the
events at the meet unfolded with Adavani postponing joining the meet, finally
saying he could not make it due to ill health, reached to deafening loudness
with Advani resigning yesterday and culminated today, when Advani withdrew his
resignation, all much like a scripted story.
All this kept the news carriers glued to the developments
as and when they were happening. And as every news carrier was on it, so was
the news-watching and reading audience universe that forms a sizeable chunk of
this country’s population. Print and electronic media, together, now covers
almost whole of the country and news developments travel in real time on the
back of advanced information and communication technologies.
So, it was BJP, L K Advani and Narendra Modi all over.
Though Narendra Modi prevailed in cornering the maximum exposure till Advani
resigned, the carriers did justice in the aftermath of Advani’s resignation giving
equal footage to Advani and BJP. The beleaguered NDA too, got good enough
attention here.
In a country where the politics and the politicians have
been unanimously branded corrupt, someone taking a stand for personal gains at
the cost of larger group interests (can be applied with Advani and Modi
both), doesn’t create a brand crisis, be it for brand BJP or brand Advani
or brand Modi. The public understands that politicians see their self-interest
first and do no compromises on that.
Isn’t it?
©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/
