A very curious thing is happening on our way to assembly polls in five states this month: News media is giving them the big ignore.
In two days, campaigning will end in Mizoram and parts of Chhattisgarh, where voting will start on 7 November. Ten days later, Madhya Pradesh will go to polls too, and Chhattisgarh will see the final voting phase.
So, you’d expect to see and read pre-election opinion polls, ground reports from constituencies, speeches of major campaigners/leaders from rallies, and, above all, the roadshows. But the only roadshow on television this week was the one by Prime Minister Narendra Modi — in Gujarat. The one big speech that flitted across the screen on 1 November was by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Rajasthan.
The media’s visible lack of enthusiasm is puzzling, not least because elections in three states appear to be thrillers, with cheek-by-jowl contests between two parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. Few people are willing to stick their necks out for a prediction.
The news is either on the Israel-Gaza war, MP Mohua Moitra, snoopgate on iPhones, Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, the Kerala church blast, the Cricket World Cup – anything and everything but the upcoming polls.
And where is the PM? He’s very much in the news but not in Mizoram or Chhattisgarh. We saw him on 31 October at the feet of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s statue near the Sardar Sarvodaya dam on the Iron Man’s birth anniversary, at the concluding ceremony of ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh’ in Delhi, inaugurating this and that but not at any election campaign. Hmmmm.
Also read: ‘Mad Max’ fury to Afghanistan’s triumph, newspapers to TV—India in grip of World Cup
Either full page or just a column
English television news channels appear to have almost boycotted the polls, so sparse is their coverage. And English mainstream newspapers seem unable to decide: Some days, Times of India, Hindustan Times, or The Indian Express will have extensive coverage or devote a full page to the ‘Dance of Democracy’ (TOI); on others, there’s just a single-column story tucked away in a corner you’re almost sure to miss.
The 1 November, TOI print edition, Delhi, bypassed the elections, HT had two stories, including an interview with Congress leader Kamal Nath, while The Hindu and Express devoted a page each to the polls as they do most days. However, do note—almost no election coverage on Page 1 for any newspaper.
Online versions of these newspapers carry election stories, but many are agency copy and routine stuff.
Also read: ‘Bombing’ of Gaza hospital changes opinion on Israel and media headlines in quick succession
The curious case of Hindi channels
The case of Hindi news channels is curiouser and curiouser. With elections in three Hindi heartland states — Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan — you’d expect them to be all over the place, in every nook and cranny, reporting the mood of the people.
Not quite. Most of the leading news channels have sallied forth into the ‘battleground’ of these elections but almost reluctantly as if they are duty-bound. There’s none of that tingle of nerves, the verve and excitement we witnessed during poll campaigns in Karnataka or West Bengal.
On this occasion, the coverage is as tepid as the sunlight in North India nowadays.
Equally interesting is the greater coverage on less touted channels such as News 24, Samay, Bharat Express, News India than on Times Now Navbharat, TV9 Bharatvarsh, India TV, or Zee News.
ABP News runs a daily evening debate show, Kaun Banega Mukhyamantri, Zee News did a charcha with Chhattisgarh CM Bhupendra Baghel and BJP leader Raman Singh, and we’ve watched or read speeches by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, or Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Bharat Express has travelled on a ‘Chunav Express’ to get popular feedback in Madhya Pradesh, while News 24 was in Bhind, MP, and Samay in Riva. Once more, it’s been left to the online sites of these channels to provide more coverage.
Don’t expose too much
So, what’s going on here? Why such little media interest in assembly polls months before the general election? Why is there such fascination with the Israel-Gaza war across channels when there’s an electoral battle at home?
Yes, yes, we know that state poll results differ from Lok Sabha ones, but still. These are important states.
One possible explanation is that coverage will pick up near the middle of November, but, by then, campaigning will have been completed in Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. Only Rajasthan and Telangana will remain.
Meanwhile, the war in the Middle East doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
During the Karnataka and West Bengal elections, the BJP, led by the PM at the front, went onto the offensive with its campaigning. This time, the approach is more muted, and the media seems to have taken its lead from the party. Its coverage is low-key.
Since everything depends on the PM, his virtual absence from the states at this juncture could also be because we saw a lot of him in MP and Rajasthan before the official campaign kicked off, so there’s no need for him to campaign as much now.
There’s also a sneaky feeling that BJP might not do well in all these states, and therefore, is downplaying the campaign — they have learnt from the Karnataka loss to not overexpose the PM.
That could also explain the media looking elsewhere for its thrills.
Views are personal.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)