THE 2024 General Elections seem to be shaping up as a battle between 'One' India in one corner and 'many' INDIAs of all sizes and sensibilities in the other.
Months after the grand coming together of the Opposition's INDIA alliance, consisting of 26 political parties, the collective has upped the pressure on the ruling BJP, attacking it on multiple issues, be it the Israel-Palestine war, NCERT's recommendation to change India's nomenclature to 'Bharat' in school textbooks or unleashing the Enforcement Directorate against Opposition leaders.
On October 28, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised India's abstention from a UN resolution on Gaza. She also invoked Mahatma Gandhi, urging the central government to take a stand on the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
Recently, Rahul Gandhi's social media blitz featured an interview with Satya Pal Malik, a BJP-appointed Governor of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir, who oversaw the controversial bifurcation of the state. The viral interview with Malik, who has since been critical of top BJP leadership, broached contentious issues like the Pulwama attack and the government's alleged largesse to the Adani Group. Gandhi's social media feed is also peppered with videos showing the former party vice-president chiselling tables for students, addressing concerns of carpenters, taking selfies with porters and welcoming puppies into his home. He also biked to Ladakh to engage with locals in remote locales.
Gandhi's YouTube channel had cooking lessons too, from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. The former Bihar CM, who once famously wanted to 'throw the Congress into the Bay of Bengal', was seen teaching Gandhi how to cook Champaran mutton for a national audience.
Other parties in the INDIA bloc have also recognised the power of social media optics.
Channelling Social Media
この記事は Outlook の November 21, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Outlook の November 21, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Trump's White House 'Waapsi'
Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election may very well mean an end to democracy in the near future
IMT Ghaziabad hosted its Annual Convocation Ceremony for the Class of 2024
Shri Suresh Narayanan, Chairman Managing Director of Nestlé India Limited, congratulated and motivated graduates at IMT Ghaziabad's Convocation 2024
Identity and 'Infiltrators'
The Jharkhand Assembly election has emerged as a high-stakes political contest, with the battle for power intensifying between key players in the state.
Beyond Deadlines
Bibek Debroy could engage with even those who were not aligned with his politics or economics
Portraying Absence
Exhibits at a group art show in Kolkata examine existence in the absence
Of Rivers, Jungles and Mountains
In Adivasi poetry, everything breathes, everything is alive and nothing is inferior to humans
Hemant Versus Himanta
Himanta Biswa Sarma brings his hate bandwagon to Jharkhand to rattle Hemant Soren’s tribal identity politics
A Smouldering Wasteland
As Jharkhand goes to the polls, people living in and around Jharia coalfield have just one request for the administration—a life free from smoke, fear and danger for their children
Search for a Narrative
By demanding a separate Sarna Code for the tribals, Hemant Soren has offered the larger issue of tribal identity before the voters
The Historic Bonhomie
While the BJP Is trying to invoke the trope of Bangladeshi infiltrators”, the ground reality paints a different picture pertaining to the historical significance of Muslim-Adivasi camaraderie
