Aabki Baar Modi Sarkaar (Punch-line politics)

The phrase Abki Baar, Modi Sarkaar was stuck in everyone’s lips during Indian Lok Sabha elections. From newspaper advertisements, radio jingles and television commercials to apps, animated cartoons and social media, these lines were at the top list of discussions in real and virtual space. Facebook walls and Twitter timeline were filled with the same lines, associating it with different dialogues, covering wide social and political issues. The same phrase has proven to be one of the major components for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s thumping victory in the polls.

Not only in India was this punch line popular, but also among Nepali social site users. Being a close neighbor of India, Nepalis unsurprisingly have special interest in Indian elections. 

BJP had officially launched its 2014 election campaign with this phrase. BJP had borrowed this punch line from its 1998 campaign Abki Bari, Atal Bihari. The campaign was designed by Indian advertising veterans Piyush Pandey, Prasoon Joshi and Sam Balsara. The original campaign was designed by Soho Square. They also created a set of radio ads with Janata Maaf Nahi Karegi—”The people won’t forgive” (the Congress government) and Acche Din Anewale Hain (“Good days are arriving”). Do baatein na jaana bhool, Narendra Modi aur kamal ka phool (“Don’t forget two things; Modi and the lotus flower”). BJP had also used various religious slogans for promotion in rural villages like Har Har Modi; Har Ghar Modi (“Everyone is Modi; Modi in every house”). Har also means Lord Shiva. However, these religious lines also courted criticism.



BJP’s slogan was the most promoted one this election season. It caught the attention of millions in no time at all. 

The Congress Party of India had put forward the slogan Main Nahi Hum (“Not I, but we”), stressing the commitment of ‘We’ as opposed to single Modi. Another line was Har haath shakti, har haath tarakki (“Every hand a power, every hand progress”). Hand is the electoral symbol of the Congress Party. But this line had little effect on the audiences. 

Almost 815 million citizens were eligible to cast their ballots in nine phases of voting over five weeks. Different TVs, cartoons, apps, video games, comics, posters and billboards with catchy punch-lines were being made and promoted across India. Modi used technology to connect with people and even addressed 3D rallies. As such, Modi and his crew managed to brilliantly handle social media platforms for promotion.

During our own second Constituent Assembly elections, we in Nepal noticed the promotion campaigns in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. However, no mass hype could be created here, unlike what BJP managed in India. We did not hear any catchy punch lines except Rastriya Prajatantra Party Nepal’s Ek vote Dai lai, Ek vote Gai lai (“One vote to big brother [big parties] and one vote to the cow”). In the previous CA elections, Maoists had used a good punch line: Sabai lai dekhyau patak patak, Maowadilai yas patak (“You have seen all, this time vote for Maoists”). This punch line helped Maoists win the first CA polls. 

Today, the trend of ads has changed due to the presence of more knowledgeable customers, competitive advertising, internet and other factors. People are exploring new ways of supporting their names or brands. US President Barack Obama had undertaken a massive promotion campaign with the help of the biggest advertising agencies, to design his slogans, speeches and the gestures tailored for public campaigns or functions (even for the photographs). Obama used the internet effectively to garner maximum votes in the 2008 presidential elections with themes like “Hope” and “Change”. Excellent promotion was one of the factors contributing to his victory during re-election for the second term in 2012. His campaign video titled “It begins with us” had created a massive hype in the US. 

Coming back to India, BJP spent more than InRs 20 million a day for Modi’s promotion. Its advertising clips were eye-catching. People loved to watch those ads. Modi-led campaign proved successful in taking the party’s message to the people, in what was a superb media blitz. Yes, the common public was fed up of incumbent Congress party’s dismal governance but its alternative had to be promoted in a manner that connects with the people. And now the results are with us. Modi’s advertisement through social media, technology and traditional mobilization created a multi-layered impact on common people, elevating him to the stature of the prime minister of the world’s biggest democracy. 

http://myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=74983

Published on Republica, 2014-05-18