Rahul Gandhi and the Opposition would love to be in the shoes of the US Democratic Party today.
The Democrats just faced down the most powerful man in the world. In a night of the long knives on Tuesday, President Donald Trump “met his match” in the American voters (The New York Times).
They gave the Democrats a majority in the US Senate and House of Representatives. Net result? ‘Mr Veto’ Trump will now have to share power with the Democrats 50:50.
That’s not the case in India. Here, the BJP comfortably leads the Opposition at the national and state levels as we saw in the recent MLC elections.
However, the Opposition has succeeded in matching the BJP in setting the news agenda. So much so that today, the BJP and the Congress & Co share news media coverage 50:50. And, first among equals, is Rahul Gandhi, Congress Leader of the Opposition.
Newspapers and television news channels lavish attention on Rahul Gandhi. Whatever he says or does makes news. The BJP’s constant attacks on him also make news.
Why, he may well receive more news coverage than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and that’s no mean achievement for the man derided as ‘Pappu’ for the longest time.
Ramlila rally becomes Rahul Gandhi show
The Ramlila Maidan ‘SIR-cus’ rally (Times Now), organised by 19 opposition parties on Sunday, 1 November, confirmed Rahul’s preeminence in the news.
The rally received blanket news TV coverage throughout Sunday and led the headlines in Hindi and English newspapers on 2 November.
Most of the time, TV cameras gave us two stock visuals: panoramic views from drone cameras of the ‘Dilli Chalo March’ (News X) and Rahul Gandhi seated in the front seat of the open jeep that conveyed Opposition leaders to Ramlila Maidan for the rally. Aaj Tak called it “Rahul’s Kafila”.
Some opposition leaders’ speeches at Ramlila Maidan went out live on TV. We heard Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, but Rahul Gandhi’s speech was the centrepiece.
Several newspapers, such as Hindustan Times and Navbharat Times, carried lead photographs of the jeep on their 2 November front pages. Others, such as The Indian Express, had images of the Ramlila podium with Rahul in the middle.
National dailies such such as The Indian Express, The Hindu and Dainik Jagran felt the rally deserved editorial comment. Some commented on the importance of being Rahul Gandhi.
For example, The Hindu’s ‘United stand’ editorial said, “The protest reinforced Mr Gandhi’s central role as the key challenger of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
On India TV, journalist Harshvardhan Tripathi said the Ramlila rally “established him as a political leader…This is a great success for Rahul Gandhi.”
The Navbharat Times front-page headline began with ‘Rahul ne kaha…’
In response, the BJP sent out a galaxy of leaders to counter Rahul and the Opposition. Union Minister JP Nadda, in particular, focused his attacks on Rahul in several speeches. On Wednesday, TV news showed him in Bhopal as he mocked Rahul for practising “bahane ki rajneeti”.
India TV said Modi’s men had “taken to the streets” and we saw Union ministers Amit Shah and JP Nadda, BJP president Nitin Nabin and chief ministers from BJP-governed states participating in ‘Samvidhaan Bachao’ padyatras.
It was BJP versus Rahul, once again, a familiar contest since the summer of discontent over the NEET paper leaks and the subsequent cancellation of the examination as well as the SIR ‘vote chori’.
Also read: When the Rahul and Priyanka Show took over Indian TV news
Rohtak rally to the BJP’s rescue
If the BJP was out there to (re)gain the media’s attention, it succeeded, to a certain extent.
In newspapers and on TV news, the ‘Sunday Super Showdown’ (NDTV was characterised as a ‘protest v/s protest’ (India Today) and got second billing.
The Ramlila rally led in coverage, but TV news often switched to Amit Shah’s Rohtak protest and speech. “Political battleground stretching from Rohtak to Ramlila’ is how News18 India described it.
Newspapers may have given the Opposition rally the lead, but Amit Shah’s Rohtak attack was usually a companion piece. Several Hindi newspapers, such as Hindustan and Dainik Jagran, gave Ramlila and Rohtak equally billing on page 1.
Dainik Jagran wrote an editorial that criticised the Opposition for pursuing the SIR agitation without substance (‘Vote chori ka bahana’).
Other editorials applauded the show of unity by the Opposition but warned it – and Rahul Gandhi – about the road ahead.
The Indian Express wrote, “The Opposition may need to pause and take stock. Is symbolism overtaking the substance of its politics, even undermining it?…is it losing the issue while sounding nihilistic?” the newspaper asked in its editorial, ‘Opposition climbs stage but needs sharper script’.
In ‘A big boost for Oppn but big test ahead’, Hindustan Times added, “In key states such as Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the Opposition will need to curb infighting, hit the ground running … if it hopes to translate street protests into formal democratic representation.”
Missing estimate of Ramlila crowd
One interesting aspect of the news coverage was the size of the Ramlila rally.
Most of the news media did not put a number to it, not even an approximate one. Wonder why.
India Today’s reporter on the ground on Sunday said it was “massive”.
“The Opposition has been able to gather a large number of people…,” added the NDTV anchor.
“Show of strength’ was the vague definition from Times Now Navbharat.
The Times of India stated that Ramlila Maidan was “packed with protesters”, while Hindustan Times said the rally was “attended by thousands…”
News18 India was imprecise, but at least it had an estimate: its reporter said he couldn’t give an exact figure, but there were “lakhs of people…”
It was left to Dainik Jagran to cite a number — laced with sarcasm: The ‘promise of 10 lakh’ by the Opposition saw only “60,000” gather at the protest site, it wrote in its 2 November edition.
In a video clip from The Statesman, DCP Central Delhi Rohit Rajbir said Ramlila Maidan can accommodate between 45,000 to 50,000. So that’s that.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)