It’s Zohran Mamdani versus Donald Trump’s MAGA in the US now, after film director Mira Nair’s son won the mayoral elections in New York.
It’s also Modi versus Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, where, if you believe Indian news television channels, the NDA will enjoy a ‘maha’ big win—as big and brutal as Mamdani’s over his opponent, Andrew Cuomo.
ABP News opinion poll on Tuesday predicted an NDA sweep with between 153-164 seats and the MGB restricted to 76-87 seats. That’s a Cuomo defeat — the former New York mayor lost to Mamdani by a margin of 8.8 per cent.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be delighted by the ABP News poll. In the interviews he gave across TV news channels, including Times Now, India Today, Aaj Tak, TV9 Bharatvarsh, just before the end of campaigning for the first phase of voting, he claimed the NDA would win more than 160 seats.
Other BJP leaders did the same. Party chief J P Nadda said that there would be a “clear cut victory’’ for NDA, BJP MP Anurag Thakur called it a “wave’’ in favour of the ruling coalition. (News 18 India).
Mood in Bihar
Why listen to politicians, though? All of them will claim success for their respective parties. What do the people say? Well, those interviewed by TV news channels are very clear that the NDA or rather Modi and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, will win.
“Modi and Nitish Kumar have done a lot of work,” said a man in Sitamarhi to Aaj Tak. “They’ve done a very good job,” said a representative of the Sikh community in Patna (News Nation).
“Why would I vote for Lalu?’’ asked an elderly man in Bhagalpur, “He is known for ghotalas.” (R. Bharat)
“Tejashwi will get votes from goondas only,” said a white-haired voter in Muzzaffarpur. “BJP will be back. Rahul (Gandhi) and others are fake.”
In Hajipur, women were all praise for ‘Modi sarkar’. “The schemes he offers work for us,” said one of them to News 18 India. The news channel found similar views when it spoke to women in Digha. “Are you safe?” asked the reporter. “Yes,” replied several young women. But they did have a few complaints too. “What is Rs 10,000 today? It amounts to nothing,” declared one female voter. “And we are worried about unemployment.”
“Modi,” said civic workers in Patna one after another (News 18 India). It was a common refrain we heard often on different news channels.
If there is discontent with the current NDA government in the state, it’s not being heard on TV news. There are a few murmurs of protest against unemployment and the issues faced by migrants, but those are rare (CNN News 18).
There are several possible explanations for this. First, television news has captured the mood of Bihar and is reflecting it accurately. Second, TV news is speaking to voters in NDA strongholds. Third, supporters of the Mahagathbandhan are silent. Fourth, voters don’t reveal their actual choices but say what they think is politically correct.
Take your pick.
Also read: Rahul and Modi turn Bihar into a national showdown. Tejashwi keeps it local
Under-reported opposition rallies
One aspect of television news coverage is clear—news channels are generous toward BJP leaders. Throughout the election campaign until 4 November, they received much more coverage than the Opposition.
Rally speeches or roadshows by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were broadcast live. Modi and Adityanath’s speeches are covered extensively, while ministers may be cut off at a certain point.
Nitish is frequently seen and referred to, but his speeches receive little live screen time.
In Mahagathbandhan, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav is the most visible, with frequent soundbites from him. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is seen but heard much less. As for other leaders like Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Priyanka Gandhi, who campaigned in Bihar, we heard about their rallies, heard some soundbites, but the coverage simply could not be compared to the BJP’s exposure.
On the last day of Phase 1 campaigning, TV news channels went live on speeches by Modi, Shah, Nadda and Adityanath. There were interviews with BJP MPs Ravi Kishan and Manoj Tiwari—the latter even sang a ditty about Bihar on air (NDTV 24×7).
Opposition rallies went under-reported with no “live” shows.
Also read: How INDIA bloc’s Bihar manifesto offers a clear blueprint to revive the state
Same old tilt toward BJP
No surprises here. This tilt towards the BJP is the same old, same old. We see it happen in in every election campaign.
The election coverage also hasn’t changed. Reporters fan out across the electoral map and ask the public who they will vote for. They interview leaders, too. In TV newsrooms, anchors, political analysts and journalists share gyaan.
Few go where there are poor livelihood conditions, where poverty is striking, where infrastructure is invisible, where factories have closed down, where farmers are struggling, where the mafia rules…
To end with a curious coincidence. Jawaharlal Nehru is suddenly back in the news—but this time he wasn’t criticised.
The BJP often names him as the architect of India’s many shortcomings and failures, which are amplified on TV news. However, this week, Nehru’s words echoed across television after two very different victories.
First, during the Women’s ODI World Cup final, TV cricket commentators used Nehru’s words from his freedom at midnight speech, delivered on 14 August 1947, to describe India’s win over South Africa: “At the stroke of midnight…” the Indian team kept its “tryst with destiny”.
And then, Zohran Mamdani quoted Nehru in his live victory speech in New York—“… a moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance”.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Saptak Datta)