Between Rahul Gandhi in Kerala and Modi in AIIMS, TV saw the battle of biceps

News channels this week didn’t focus on Mumbai’s cyber attack, Bengal elections or the Hathras case, but the muscular politics of PM Modi and Rahul Gandhi.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi does push-ups with a school student during his election campaign for Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, at Mulagumoodu in Kanyakumari district.

The ‘Open divide within the Congress’ (CNN News 18), ‘Rahul versus RSS’ (Republic TV), ‘Bangal mein Dangal’ (NDTV India), ‘Mega Tamil Nadu poll churn’ (India Today), the latest ‘Horror in Hathras’ (Times Now), ‘Cyber attack on Mumbai?’ (NewsX), Zee News Hindustan’s relentless attack on farmer leader Rakesh Tikait, and News24’s two-day heady sting investigation into the illicit sale of liquor in Bihar, where a bottle of Magic Moments vodka sells for Rs 1,500 when it costs approximately Rs 450 in Delhi — all this and much more will have to wait.

First, we have to consider the battle of the bulge, otherwise known as muscular politics. That is Modi’s jab versus Rahul’s jump; Modi’s left arm versus Rahul’s one-arm push-up…

A strong leader

Picture this: Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolls up his sleeve for a “shot in the arm” (Mirror Now) to ”inject faith in the vaccine’ to “silence all doubters” (CNN News 18 India), and thereby ends India’s vaccine hesitancy.

News channels celebrated with headlines like ‘PM Modi leads vaccine drive 2.0’ (Times Now), but truth be told? We were transfixed by the ripple of his biceps when he flexed his arm — did you notice? Each time the footage of his inoculation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi played on a channel — and it played many, many times throughout Monday and Tuesday – the muscles would pop up.

Which makes you think that when he reportedly joked with nurse P. Niveda, who gave him the Covaxin shot, about using a veterinary needle because politicians are notoriously thick-skinned, maybe he was being serious after all. From what we could see on the TV screen, his arm looked as hard as a rock.

As it was, nurse Niveda’s needling the PM made her quite the TV star of Monday as she appeared across channels and told us how he complimented her for her needle-point precision.

This is just one more instance of how the PM projects the image of a strong leader. News18 India was so overawed by his powerful presence at AIIMS, it hailed him as the ”Supreme Commander” while IndiaTV called him a hero (“PM nayak bane”). Both channels also managed to convey his steeliness by reminding us that Modi had gone to take the vaccine at 6 am “when Delhi was not awake” (India TV), “so as not to trouble” ordinary citizens (News18 India).

Another show of strength

Meanwhile, in South India, Congress’ Rahul Gandhi was also cutting an athletic figure, duly noted by TV news channels — and social media — which have been flooded with video footage of his prowess in the last two weeks.

First surfaced footage of him jumping into the sea, fully-clothed, feet first — and then swimming free-stroke as if it was the most natural thing in the world, his arms slicing through the waves as smoothly as through the air.

Monday, news caught up with him at a school in Tamil Nadu where he displayed a show of strength and agility that would serve him well in politics, if only it were a physical activity. With TV cameras hovering around him, Rahul Gandhi dived into 15 quick press-ups after a student challenged him and then did a one-arm press-up, easy as pie.

This video impressed TV channels sufficiently for it to be aired as frequently as his photograph in which he is looking stunned, with the headline, ‘Grand Old Party crumbles’ (CNN News18) – reference to the infighting in the Congress over its alliance with Indian Secular Front (ISF) in West Bengal.

Both videos revealed a side of Rahul Gandhi seldom seen on TV — physically fit, gracious and willing to have some fun. Is it enough to beat Modi’s jab?

Hmmmm.

Vaccine heroes

Meanwhile, in ‘Janta gets jabbed’ (Mirror Now), we met a lot of other stars, too, when news channels caught up with people at hospitals in cities like Guwahati, Patna, Lucknow, Delhi, Srinagar, Mumbai, and Bengaluru who had gone for their shots. Some even had the swag of the PM.

There was a white-haired woman in Bhopal who, jauntily, said the vaccination was “no problem at all” (Times Now). A 91-year old retired Air Force officer in Delhi lifted spirits with his composure while waiting for the inoculation — “We have been waiting but no problem — we are disciplined. Everyone should get themselves vaccinated” (NDTV 24×7). “It is very fantastic,” cooed an elderly gentleman at the BKC centre, Mumbai, Wednesday after a chaotic Tuesday, ”I will come again!’’ he added as if he had eaten a delicious meal at a restaurant and promised to return for more. (Times Now)

Others were equally strong in their responses, although not always so positive: “This is a mess,” said a 75-year-old man at Columbia Asia Hospital, Bengaluru after a long wait of many hours — “This is a disaster!” (Times Now)

To end on a completely different note, do watch India Today-Aaj Tak’s animated ‘So Sorry’. The latest edition makes light of the rise in fuel prices — ‘Yeh hum hain, yeh hamari car hai, aur yeh hai petrol wale ka ‘pawri’ ho rahi hai’.

Views are personal.