National election is one of those
most awaited festivals which occurs once in five years (obviously in normal
course) and the excitement it holds is simply unmatchable. We might not be able
to connect the dots with remarkable/terrible decisions made by the government
during its tenure but, somewhere within, we are thrilled to get the mystery
uncovered. The mystery is not confined to getting an answer as to who will be
our next PM but it extends to countless things which runs into our minds. Amongst
all this anxiety, media doesn’t leave any stone unturned to milk this
opportunity of feeding spicy content which either adds to the adrenaline rush
we already have or gives us a sense of direction which is even more exciting.
Should media be held responsible for the quality of information presented
during this sensitive period? Can we consider significant changes, events or
decisions made during the election month to be a coincidence? Well, politically,
it’s almost impossible to validate this or else we will not be able to call it
as politics.
Against all other festivals, this
festival entails preparation at a monumental level which goes on for almost a
year. All of us know that the money spent on election campaigns and related
activities is simply insane. According to the sources, an estimated amount of
INR 50k crores to be spent for 2019 elections. Phewwww! by any stretch of my
imagination I can’t think of an alibi to spend this much amount to echo your
fabricated achievements and outplay other’s mistakes. The biggest question is
from where this money comes from? Is there any provision for this spend in our
budget? Is this not questionable or all of us are supposed to keep mum and just
ignore as we are ignored for 5 years? Have the media considered it as an issue
or they are not supposed to think in this direction and highlight issues which
are already known to everyone? To be frank, this is worse than being blind as
things can be clearly seen but everyone pretends it to be unseen.
Media plays a very pivotal role
during this season. What is more important is not the content which they
showcase but the way the content is portrayed. This projection can be highly
persuasive and can influence the voters to think/act in a manner which is
ethically not correct. If I take a very simple example of exit polls (which
defies its name to the extent of 100% as the election is yet to kick start), I
would personally never be able to comprehend what could be the intended message
around it. If I am rest assured that one party is leading already then would it
make sense for me to waste my vote by choosing someone at the losing end. Wouldn’t
I rather prefer to strengthen someone at the borderline and bypass someone who
is way behind the borderline? I noticed beeline of news articles leapfrogging
to headlines and getting lot of media coverage but suddenly these headlines
have taken a back seat. So now, all at a sudden the mudslinging and the
accusations made by one to another is more important than anything else in this
world? It’s hard to believe if this projection is ethical and again everyone
prefers to cover their naked eyes with their eyelids.
The best part of this festival is
yet to come i.e. floodgate of sops, promises, positivity, compassion, waivers,
cash distribution/freebies, horse trading, movement of members from one party
to another, pre-alliance/ breakups, glamour and so on. Quite often there is a
sense of euphoria during this season like stock market skyrocketing, a very robust
growth projection in upcoming years, stereotyped reforms suddenly benefiting
millions of us without we even realizing it, reservation proposed for a new
community, loan waiver, minimum income for the poor and what not. Can we call
all of it a co-incidence which would have occurred otherwise also? One month of
stock market run outmatched the growth being witnessed in years, so was it
organic? How come an airline company which was on the verge of collapse got
further aid when it was already indebted for INR 10k crores? How come the biopic
on PM is coming exactly in the same week of election? How come the money
withdrawn from banks in this season amplified 100 times and high value notes didn’t
come back into the system? Shhhhhhh, we can’t talk about these things. How can
we stoop so low that we think it’s not a co-incidence?
Ideally this festival is more
colorful than Holi as it has numerous shades which can never be known. During
holi, even when someone is completely embroiled with multiple colors, we can
identify the person but unfortunately during election season it’s impossible to
imagine the true colors of our Gods. Pumping up glamour by hiring few jobless
film stars is further intended to deviate the real issues and focus on
something which is temporary and artificial. What is really required for us is
to factor in everything which occurred/missed over the period and not the chain
of events close to election time. It shouldn’t be difficult for anyone to fake
for a temporary period, but the mask will surely be rotten in 5 years and we
can easily see the true picture if we analyze things for a longer period. Lights,
Camera, Action sounds good only in reel life and by no means we should draw
parallel lines from there to be influenced by the political drama which
essentially aggravates during the so called ‘DESH KA MAHA TYOHAAR- LIGHTS, CAMERA,
ELECTION!!!
