How the Congress nixed the BJP's media blitz
by Pankaj Yadav

          New Delhi: The Congress reaped unexpected gains in the general elections just concluded. Before the elections and even after the polling was over, it was widely felt that the party might be in a dire need of a `helping hand' from some of its allies that were at a distance. However, the post-poll situation suggests a different story. The Congress is having a gala time, patting its own back for emerging victorious almost single-handedly.

          But, the million-dollar question is how did the party manage to counter the massive ad-campaign unleashed by BJP strategists like Pramod Mahajan, Arun Jaitley, Prakash Javdekar and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Only a few (read party insiders) are aware of the fact that the PR-man Dilip Cherian, the CEO of Perfect Relations, whose wife Devi Cherain recently got elected to the Rajya Sabha on Congress ticket, played a significant role in chalking out a `well-drafted strategy' to give a befitting reply to the `BJP boys'. Though, it's a different story that Cherian faced a stiff opposition by some of the top leaders within the Congress, who felt insecure about losing their job in party's Media Cell, with him playing a significant role (read interference) in party's election campaign. According to party insiders, leaders like Jairam Ramesh, Ambika Soni Ahmed Patel and Salman Khurshid helped Dilip to strike the deal.

          Speaking exclusively to ANI, Cherian said the most significant part of his strategy was to reach out to the poor and less- informed people living in the country's remote and rural areas. He chose at least 48 centres across the country from where he unleashed his media campaign for the Congress by reaching out to the public through local cable TV networks, the vernacular press and the lesser-known communication channels that were left untouched by the BJP's high-tech media campaign. "We didn't touch the top issues that made headlines through the electioneering, like talking about BJP's `India Shining' campaign, Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin issue. Had we done that, such issues would have got undue publicity and would have jeopardized the Congress' interests," Cherian told ANI.

           "I may tell you that the women voters aggressively voted for the Congress on the name of Sonia. I relate it to the fact that since Vajpayee launched a direct attack on Sonia, they sort of equated the Congress president to his stature, because normally two persons of the same stature accuse and attack each other. The women folks took it very offensively.........according to Indian tradition once a woman is married in an Indian family she becomes the country's `bahu' (daughter-in-law)..........and is very much an Indian citizen," he added. "We stressed on the fact that the BJP was wrongly claiming the credit for those things for which the Congress had laid the foundation during the past 50 years, such as IT revolution and Green Revolution," he stressed further.

          About the PR firms' role in the future in the political arena, he said it had increased over the past three general elections. Now the political parties are feeling the need for professional campaigns, he said, adding "according to me so far we have been effective 25 percent only, and there is still a large role for us to play for political parties in future." "You will be amazed to know that several Indonesian political parties approached my firm - Perfect Relations - to campaign for them in their last elections," he claimed. So, Cherain is going gaga after `successfully' guiding the Congress to the Centre. But, what price did the Congress pay to this "magic man" remains an unanswered question. People in the Congress' Media Cell put the figure to be "around a crore". They say the PR firm worked for the party for 90 days, and each day cost it a little over one lakh rupees.

Markets jittery as analysts predict roadblocks for new Govt (Go To Top)

          Mumbai: The major Public Sector Units (PSUs) dragged the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index down by more than three percent on Friday, because of the fears that privatisation might not find favour with a new government set to be formed with the help of Leftists. The index tumbled about 11 percent, outpacing a 3.4 percent fall in the top Bombay share index. Among the hardest hit were the companies in which the previous government had announced plans to sell a strategic stake. Oil refiners Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd. both dived by at least 10 percent, while Shipping Corporation of India, the country's biggest shipping line, lost 12 percent to hit an eight-month low of 92.2 rupees. Shares in ONGC, the country's top oil producer in which the government sold a record 2.3 billion dollars worth of shares in March, dropped almost 10 percent to 742.45 rupees.

           Foreign funds have already sold a net 365 million dollars worth of Indian shares in seven straight days through Wednesday. "The reason of the fall is the nervousness in the mind of the FIIs (Foreign Institutional Investors) due to which retail investors, domestic funds have been effected. The amount of selling by the FIIs, which has effected the market," Anuj Ajmera, a stock analyst, said. Economists, as well, have warned of potential roadblocks amid concerns about what kind of economic policies the newly elected government would adopt. The Congress has stressed that it would continue with reforms, though with a human face, but economists warn of potential roadblocks-an imperative fallout of rapid boom in the past months. "Public investment is likely to take time to get started. Foreign investment, I don't expect it will withdraw from the country but in the short run it will wait and watch. And over the next one year, there will be very few job opportunities so the government will have to work hard on both creation of jobs as well on welfare measures," D.N. Rao, economist with the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said. Privatisation and other reforms had helped draw record foreign investments of 7.7 billion dollars into the country in 2003, and another 4 billion dollars in 2004. The inflows have left the domestic money market flush with funds but cautious foreign investors and poor rural development are bound to rebound on the economy, slowing it an alarming pace.

Hectic parleys on in Capital to form next Govt (Go To Top)

           New Delhi: Hectic parleys continued in Delhi on Friday as the Congress was set to form a new government backed by Left parties. Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), a Congress ally, called on the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi early in the day. Sonia now faces the delicate task of stitching up an alliance with the Leftist parties, which hold a critical bloc of 60-plus seats but which are opposed to the style of economic reforms introduced by outgoing Prime Minister Atal behari Vajpayee's BJP to open the economy. CPI (M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet said efforts were on to garner support of like-minded parties to keep the BJP out of power. "Former Prime Minister V.P Singh wants that there should be no hindrance in forming the government with the help of every secular party which has contributed in defeating BJP. As far as Amar Singh is concerned we have told him that we should analyse the results first and then move forward," Surjeet said.

           Meanwhile, newly elected lawmakers of socialist Samajwadi Party met in New Delhi to decide its course of action. "It was our dream to see that the BJP-led NDA be ousted. It has come true in UP and the entire nation. What will be our role in the government formation will be decided after our elected members have met and I have already met Harkishen Singh Surjeet," Samajwadi Party's general secretary Amar Singh said.

Reddy sworn in as AP chief minister (Go To Top)

          Hyderabad: Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh today afternoon. He is the 14th chief minister of the state. State Governor Surjeet Singh Barnala administered the oath of office and secrecy in Telugu to Dr Reddy from the specially erected dais at the Lal Bahadur Stadium here in the presence of bureaucrats, politicians and a huge cheering crowd. Dr Reddy, who led the party to a resounding victory after a gap of ten years, took the oath alone. Other ministers are likely to be sworn in next week after the formation of the Congress-led secular front government at the Centre.

SP authorises Yadav to take decision on joining Govt (Go To Top)

           New Delhi: Signaling its willingness to support a Sonia Gandhi-led coalition at the Centre, the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Friday authorised its president Mulayam Singh Yadav to take a decision whether to join the Congress-led government at the Centre. Party general secretary Amar Singh told reporters after meetings of newly elected SP MPs and party's parliamentary board that Yadav would take a decision in consultation with Left Parties. Yadav, whose refusal to support Gandhi in 1999 on account of her "foreign origin" had aborted her plans of forming a government, is in touch with CPM leaders, particularly its general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet and any decision taken in consultation with the Left Parties will be "acceptable" to SP. Declaring that SP was committed to secularism and wanted a "secular alternative" to NDA government at the Centre, he said the party was "ready for any sacrifice" for this. Asked whether Congress leading a "secular" formation at the Centre would be acceptable to the party, the SP leader "We cannot ignore Congress here as that party cannot ignore SP in Uttar Pradesh." He said SP would go along with a Left front decision even if the Congress president was made the Prime Minister. He also said, "Foreign origin issue is a non-issue after the court decision."

Delhites welcome poll results (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: For the Delhities the polls results came a surprise, but on Friday they welcomed the Congress president Sonia Gandhi as the likely next prime minister. Neeraj Khanna, a resident, said if Congress comes to power then Sonia should be the prime minister. "I think nobody else in the congress command has this much power as Sonia Gandhi. On the other side though she may not be as experienced as Atal Behari Vajpayee. So, that is also a disadvantage but if the Congress is coming to power then Sonia will be coming. She should be given a chance for that," said Khanna, while going through a newspaper. The results were a resounding rejection by the rural poor of Vajpayee's "India shining" campaign motto, although Gandhi's Congress was not expected to turn its back on a policy of gradually liberalising Asia's third-largest economy. "Its good that there should be a change in the administration so that the people whosoever comes to power they should realise that finally at the end of the day it is the commonman that matters. Its not the technology, computers, its not the laptop that can do business, it is the common man we need to take care of common man and the poor people whose main problem is electricty, water and thir shelter. The basic needs should be fullfiled," said George Anthony, a public servant. But, a few expressed reluctance at Sonia becoming premier. "Sonia.................I don't think Sonia can be a good prime minister. But what can we do whether we like it or not she will be," said Vinay Bharadwaj.