Media's honeymoon with AAP

Principal responsibility of a country’s mainstream media, or its fourth estate, is to act as a conscience keeper for general public. An impartial, fearless and proactive media can play a vital role in raising right issues at right time, in shaping the public discourse, and in evolving a national consensus on pressing challenges. But it can be dangerous if the same media turns into an instrument of sensationalism, a TRP chasing entity, and a competitor for headline grabbing breaking news. And when influential channels and powerful newspapers lose all sense of objectivity, blatantly start taking political positions, openly endorse or discredit a particular ideology, and explicitly pop up or run down a particular individual, then long term consequences are always disastrous.  A cursory look at media’s honeymoon with AAP in the last few weeks unfortunately indicates the same.

Before somebody draws any conclusion regarding my position on AAP I would explicitly state that AAP’s debut in Delhi state elections was truly phenomenal, and that India’s rigid political system desperately needed a shakeup.  But that has resulted in media overdrive in promoting AAP as that agent of change. The amount of print space in newspapers and airtime on news channels devoted to AAP and Kejriwal would give you an impression that in a country of 1.2 billion people there is only one state, only one government and only one chief minister. Media has already coronated him as a Messiah who is going to change India once and for all.   Let us also assume that the AAP even though inexperienced, has the right intentions. But frankly, two weeks is too short a time to judge the performance of any government. Currently it seems like Delhi is run through media where the show of doing something is more important than actually doing something.

Symbolism during oath taking ceremony

Everybody seems to have forgotten that the elections were held for four states, not just one. It was only Delhi that gave a fractured verdict. Does anybody even know about the oath taking ceremony of the other three chief ministers that won in much larger states with a much larger majority? The entire process only became an exercise in mere symbolism. To boost his ‘Aam Aadmi’ credentials, the CM  decided to take a metro ride for the ceremony. All the cameras dutifully lined up to cover the ‘historic’ day. The media told you that he is a common man because he is also travelling in a train like an ordinary passenger.  But what they did not tell you is that this was no ordinary travel. A special empty train had been called in exclusively for Arvind Kejriwal. Of course his party members travelled with him without taking a ticket. Ordinary and regular commuters were stranded because they were not allowed to board this train which anyways did not stop at any intermediate stations. So who causes more inconvenience – CM who will travel with an escort of few cars, or the CM who will bring the entire public transport to halt in peak morning hours only because he should look like Aam Aadmi. There is no objection to AK taking up Z-level security, but why should media make a spectacle out of him. The entire cabinet decided to use government cars from next day anyways, which is okay and completely acceptable.

There is nothing new about such tokenism and media’s lapping up to it.  Remember Rahul Gandhi  travelled once travelled by Delhi metro and then took a radio taxi? Or when he commuted like an ‘aam aadmi’ in Mumbai.  All this was projected as a paradigm shift and evolution of a new leader by the media. But apart from grabbing few headlines did all this make any tangible difference in life of daily travelers, the answer is an emphatic no.

Kejrival’s Lifestyle and accommodation

After the oath taking ceremony, media’s attention switched to his lifestyle. So we were told that even after being the CM, he lives such a simple lifestyle. Well, certainly admirable. Everybody in public life should practice what they preach and set an example. But is he the only one who does that?

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar travels throughout the state without his entourage. He often has often been spotted riding a pillion, and travels in a simple car. He is available to general public through an email ID he uses everyday.  Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee resides in a rented government flat. He neither owns a house nor a vehicle.   Narendra  Modi works on a salary   of Rs 12,000 a month, less than that of government peon. His mother still lives in a simple two bedroom house  whose condition is below that of a simple middle  class standard.  Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar  is officially the ‘poorest CM’ of India. His personal property, movable and immovable amounts to less than 2.5 lakhs. After being a chief minister four times, his total bank balance is less than 10,000.

Trying to overplay Arvind’s austere lifestyle, some media morons went to the extent of narrating how AK wears an old sweater, muffler and simple trousers.  By that logic, we have always seen Mamata Bannerjee in a white ragged saree and slippers. Her house is dilapidated and completely ramshackle, below par as compared to any ‘aam aadmi’ accommodation.  Even Kejriwal cannot beat her in the game of austerity.

Even when ‘politician’ is the most discredited word  in this country, there are many who do not have an iota of taint on their integrity after decades of positions in high office. Our media did not notice any of them. A day after swearing-in, AK got ill and confessed on twitter that he had ‘loose motions’. Our shameless reporters caught hold of his doctor and told us on national television how many times he went to toilet throughout the day!

Anti corruption helpline

Few days back, Kejriwal launched an anti-corruption number, that would help enable all citizens to   catch the corrupt officials red handed. Laudable initiative indeed. Almost all major state governments have an anti-corruption landline number, monitored  by the  concerned department or state vigilance bureau. But media presented as if this is the most novel and unprecedented idea of fighting corruption.  Only time will tell if AK’s number is able to significantly impact corruption in Delhi, and we must honestly give his government some time to show the results.

Everybody is copying AAP, really?

We are now told that all political parties are only emulating AAP in everything they do. This is being touted on prime time as the ‘AAP effect’. Let us concede that AAP is doing everything for a noble cause and right intention. But the fact is there is nothing radically new in what this new party has done so far. Cut in electricity prices? So many states have tried their hands at providing free electricity, only bankrupting the state discoms in long run. Free water? So many states are already providing water or food at lower or subsidized prices. Janta durbar? It is an age old practice, still utilized by grassroot politicians. Those who are genuinely interested in public outreach initiatives should study Gujarat’s award winning SWAGAT program, through which Modi himself directly addresses issues of common man. His rival Nitish Kumar also regularly holds Janta Durbar in Bihar. So do many MLAs, MPs and cabinet ministers. How come media does not find a single minute to report any of this?

But I was wrong when I said that there is nothing new that AAP did. After fighting the entire election on anti-Congress platform, when the party fell short of majority, it conducted an SMS poll to get people’s opinion whether it should take its support and ended up forming a government with the same Congress it despises so much. Some of its leaders have even talked about food prices being decided by the people. It is yet to be seen whether this is a practical and sensible thing to do.

But our media is currently obsessed with AAP and has been nakedly promoting each and every activity, word and movement. Today they do not even try to look unbiased or impartial. It will not be an exaggeration to say that they have all unanimously turned into AAP’s PR agents. They have preferred noise  over news and sensationalism over sense.

Creating/destroying heroes

It will be too naïve to rule out any nexus between the media and political establishment. Our news anchors and journalists behave with an arrogance that that they can create or destroy careers in Indian politics. For years they presented Dr Manmohan Singh as a brilliant reformer, who holds the keys to propel Indian economy on path of high growth.  The same man is leaving us with stagnating growth, uncontrollable inflation, and big holes  in fiscal and current account. Do you know who was CNN IBN’s Indian of the Year in 2009? Yeah, Rahul Gandhi. That guy has turned out to be completely  immature, silly and politically dumb. Do you know who was celebrated as India’s emerging youth icon in 2012? Akhilesh Yadav. In less than a year, Muzzaffarnagar riots and his government’s mishandling of the same have damaged his credibility beyond repair. Narendra Modi is the one against whom they nurtured visceral hatred. They tried every trick in the book to stop his career trajectory. Ironically, this man could  be India’s next prime minister in few month. AK would be well advised to look at these examples before being carried away by the media bubble around him.

Harmful to the country

This kind of sensationalism basically causes irreparable damage to the country by skewing the debate away from real issues. Secondly, it appears that AAP in Delhi is turning into a government of the camera and for the camera. This ‘press conference per day’ approach is not sustainable for five years. No government can function in such manufactured limelight and continuous adulation. With such incessant focus, the media actually obstructs the legislative and prevents its machinery from functioning efficiently. Most importantly, when movements are underpinned by hype and built around a bubble of publicity, they give rise to unrealistic expectations. And when the reality falls short of bar raised too high, it leads to disillusionment and apathy. This ultimately culminates into complete alienation from the political process. Hardcore followers then turn into indifferent citizens who start viewing elections and democracy itself with a sense of cynicism.

This needless hurry of declaring winners even before the battle has begun can therefore have long term consequences. It is hence advisable that the media sticks to its mandate and focuses on what it should be doing – act as conscience keepers for general public. Nothing more, nothing less.