As Karnataka elections are ahead, the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are busy in strategic discussions amongst themselves respectively. India has 28 states and 3 Union territories. Currently the BJP is in power in 11 states. As per exit polls, surveys and current scenario, the BJP will probably lose government in Karnataka. Thus, it has 10 states remaining in its hands. BJP politics is micro politics, that is micro strategies that generally don’t meet the eye actually result in a more long lasting subconscious impact than the usual gargantuan ones. It’s like the extra cheese toppings in a pizza which make you wonder if toppings itself is a Hobson’s choice. Here are 7 underrated election strategies that work magic for the BJP to win elections.
1) BJP no longer an upper caste party
The Mehta-Singh Social Index findings in 2017 brought out astonishing facts that prove bjp has been playing caste politics at a micro level.
The Government of Uttar Pradesh on March 3, 2000 (vide Order No. 334/64-I-2000-46/95 dated 10-3-2000) issued under Section 13 of the UP Public Services (Representation for SCs, STs and OBCs) Act, 1994 included Jats in the UP State List of Backward Classes which made them eligible for reservation under the UP State Public Services.
The BJP has become the most socially representative party in UP by caste. In the process, the party has reduced upper-caste dominance. However, this social engineering has been done without losing the support of the upper-castes.
In June 2020, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi pointed out to his party workers that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was represented by 113 Other Backward Class (OBC), 43 Scheduled Tribe (ST) and 53 Scheduled Caste (SC) Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Lok Sabha (LS). In other words, 37.2% of the BJP’s Lok Sabha MPs were OBC, 14.1% ST and 17.4% SC. This meant that 68.9% (209) of its 303 Lok Sabha MPs elected in 2019 were non-upper-caste, and from castes that were traditionally considered lower down in the caste hierarchy. This is strikingly on par with the widely accepted national share of the population of these castes: 69.2%. If you leave seats reserved by law for SCs and STs alone, non-upper castes still account for almost 60% of BJP MPs from general constituencies. Within this, as many as 50% (113) were OBC.
What does this indicate? Double decking. The general narrative is BJP is an upper caste party. However, that is conventional, that is they want us to think so. They want to be accused of casteism. How does this benefit them? In three ways, firstly, an opportunity to be unapologetic, secondly, absence of social representation glorification sends wrong equation analysis to the opposition. For a party that glorifies in a hyperbolic manner almost everything happens in the country, be it the Prime Minister doing yoga or feeding peacocks, don’t you think they could have substantially highlighted this change in caste representation? Could they have not been boosted about being pro-weaker caste sections? They could, but bjp’s caste politics is limited to internal lobbying.
The opposition thinks bjp is anti-weaker castes, reaches out such castes in UP, only to find out they have already benefitted by the BJP. Those who have benefitted stay silent. Those who do not speak. The silent voter is mistaken as a newbie in polity. Efforts are made to bring it to a space thinking it will not be having preconceived notions. Thus, this works as a labyrinth only to make the opposition waste its time. Then there is the purchase of people. This works in a different way. Contrary to popular narrative, Nalin Mehta’s the New BJP suggests bjp votebank comprises largely rural India. The idea is to portray the party of the village, bully the opposition, give stunts, let it react, make it feel big thinking it has got an upper hand, only to keep it busy. The Prime minister stands here in the center of the labyrinth trying to confuse voters, being unable to convince them. Meanwhile, BJP sends its team to the secret lobby in places dominated by a specific community or caste group. A maths sum will be wrong if the final answer doesn’t match with the answer given. But that’s not a feasible idea for people to debate if there is a printing error. Thus, like GDP Mr.Modi changed the caste formula. If the formula is wrong, there is no way you can prove your alternative answer is correct.
“Propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated
are confident they are acting on their own free will.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
The existing anti-poor, anti-dalit conventional narrative helps achieve this. For no one will be able to guess the real game, unless one observes statistics. Hardly, does one. Voters who are naive and timid, fall for this, not realising the larger purpose of creating an artificial non-existent conflict.
2) Unapologetic attitude
The BJP has an unapologetic attitude about everything. The establishment of Ram Mandir, removal of article 370, demonitisation, Ladakh being made and union territory were some of the radical decisions the BJP did in recent years. This left the internet divided into opinions that can be characterized with political ideas such as populism, secularism, social conservatism, etc. This is associated with emotions like anger, pride, revenge etc; Everyone in India today has strong opinions, that is extreme views. It’s either a religious fundamentalist or an anti-capitalist proletarian. Nothing in between, everyone is an extremist. What does this suggest? Vote is on the basis of emotions not logic.
The BJP had a crucial loss in 2018, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh were won by Congress. The BJP overcame this by presenting an unapologetic attitude. It’s like we have lost, so what, we won’t shift from our ideals. Political ideals in Indian polity cannot be judged on ethical parameters. Negative amplification and subjective focus should be the criterion. Most Indian voters vote impulsively. You will hear frequently, i voted for them earlier, now I don’t support it. Rarely, one finds a generation wise voter. There are even different party supporters in one family.
BJP’s refusal to remove from its religious nationalism and neoliberal ideas post electoral losses helps set a narrative. A narrative that says we are here to do seva (service), electoral victory is only profit in the due course. Usually people who are unapologetic are glorified as bold revolutionaries. The youth likes this impulsively.
“Propaganda must facilitate the displacement of aggression by specifying the targets for hatred.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
Generally a person who is unapologetic is deemed aggressive but regarded as a loyal person, if not anything else. A person who is better than the other evils. People like choosing. Trust me they do like making difficult choices, especially when offered a choice between two evils. A Dharm Sankat gives validation to the human self having made a choice, by overcoming something unconventional. However, what is regarded as unconventional is mostly conventional. People want to get validation having made a bold choice others didn’t make, but they did, thus, they are great. However, ironically, everyone in the room has felt the same thing. Thus “everyone” is an artificial reality that led to a multiplication effect with negative amplification.
3) Radical decisions
What does the word radical mean? The term radical signifies (used of opinions and actions) far beyond the norm. The youth is attracted to the conventional concept of boldness. Radical is even synonymous with the word revolutionary. Ram Mandir being established despite outrage was big. Demonitisation failed, even RBI admitted. Mr.Modi didn’t bat an eye. People said, “Mr.Modi has done, must have thought of something.” Even a 2014 magazine cover read, “Modi has big plans, but is India ready for it?”. Removal of Article 370 too was a decision that can be described as ‘big’. Here, the usage of the term radical and change, is ethically neutral. Change is not necessarily always positive. The youth wants change, creation and bold moves. Something has been established, created setting a new narrative, (which in this case is hindu nationalism) is sufficient for an impulsive voter to vote. A layman doesn’t bother about its ethical side, for it’s a controversial issue. Thus, refuses to touch upon out of political correctness.
“There was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyway always yield to the stronger, and this will always be “the man in the street.” Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect. Truth was unimportant and entirely subordinate to tactics and psychology.” ~ Joseph Goebbels, Propaganda Minister, Nazi Regime
Bjp deliberately touches non-negotiable issues. Let us understand it with an example, some people claim we are children of God, some say evolution. The former supports divine origin theory the latter evolutionary even with respect to statehood. What is true? We don’t know; it’s not important to know. Observe the participants on both sides. You cannot convince an atheist, God exists. Similarly, you cannot convince a believer, God doesn’t. It’s non-negotiable irrespective of metaphysical or empirical reality. What we want to believe, we believe. Belief is based on emotion, convention and choice.
4) Colonial card
Recently I came across a video on a YouTube channel titled, “How did Modi end colonialism?” Dropping abide with me and replacing it with “Aye mere watan k logo”, While ‘Abide With Me’ is traditionally a Scottish Christian hymn, it has a fan following across religions and nationalities. Father of the Nation was a huge fan himself after he first heard it being played by the Mysore Palace Band. Moved by the tenderness of the piece, he included it in the Sabarmati Ashram’s bhajanavali.
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Only when it looks deeply, one realises that the prayer wasn’t adapted out of sympathy with the British, but because of its beautiful lyrics. Have we come so low that we need to cherry pick prayers based on religion and origins of the lyricist? Bangladesh national anthem is written by an Indian. Nobody is baffled. Let that sink in.
What next, excluding Mughal cuisine, Mughal music? Well, it’s possible men or women who are part of the republic day celebration have been educated in schools built by the British, speaking English, a language introduced by the British. Let’s ban that too.
Another example was the change in navy symbol, in a bid to do away with the “colonial past”, the Saint George’s Cross has been removed from the Indian Navy’s new flag. One of the design elements honours Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha kingdom who had a naval fleet. Interestingly, Saint George died 1200 years before Britain was formally established. I guess the right wing got confused between King George and Saint George.
Rajpath being renamed as kartavya path, replacement of George V as Netaji statue, budget briefcase being Bahikatha, three Andaman and Nicobar islands being renamed and wearing of traditional outfits during convocations has given the youth reasons to vote for the BJP.
When built, the road was named King’s Way, or Kingsway, in honour of the Emperor of India George V, who had visited Delhi during the Durbar of 1911, and where the Emperor formally proclaimed the decision to move the capital. The Kartavya path was justified on the ground that the present government members are servants of the people as they use the road mostly. The irony is hierarchy is a social reality. The absence of a king, makes no difference, until social exploitation challenges are addressed. Interestingly, the same party members said before the 2019 mahagathbandhan alliance, “Jab saara opposition ek ho jata hain tab samajna raja Sacha hain (When the entire opposition is united, understand the king is true)”. No wonder, he isn’t the king, but still possesses the power to bless people if voted to power, as claimed by JP Nadda.
5) Self victimization
Often you must have heard Mr.Modi shouting how Congress is abusing him, how he is OBC etc;. This is self – victimization. People living with a victim mentality may internalize the negative messages suggested by the challenges they face. Self sabotage brings sympathy from the audience. Toxic behavior like this may be more often associated with narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissists may play the victim if they believe they gain something from making you feel guilty. The tendency to have low introspection combined with an exaggerated sense of superiority may leave them unable to see the situation in a way that doesn’t fit their worldview.
In general, people with narcissistic personalities have a difficult time being aware of their behaviors and how these affect others. They might not be able to “see it” even when you point it out to them. For someone who doesn’t remotely think he is wrong, will never accept he is wrong. The BJP hasn’t spared a momentum to introspect upon its actions. BJP doesn’t conduct evil knowingly. Does it not understand what’s wrong? It doesn’t. Here’s why!
Firstly, social conditioning is important. You will believe what you want to be true. But what you want depends upon your environment. If people around you eat meat, you suddenly cannot develop a choice to be vegan. If you come across some influencer or source to motivate you to do so, it may not be accepted by your family for multiple reasons like food availability, resources, health etc; You are more likely to adapt an idea, which five people around you preach and more likely to practice something you have seen others practice and live fairly.
The present generation has spent a decade in a BJP regime, a right wing narrative is set. It is accepted to the extent of glorification. Normalisation has reached its peak because people cannot accept they don’t have a good government or they voted wrong. If you grow up in a certain environment, it’s only obvious you will be immune to that. 10-18 years is the age when preconceived notions are perfectly molded in the being. Doesn’t change before 40. By that time mistakes are already made. There are people in our country who actually are realising that this is not a good government, things are wrong, not everything is correct but saying that even slightly would be a defeat. Then there is ego satisfaction. They vote to validate their ego, I can’t be wrong, I wasn’t wrong. There is a shift but it has resulted in silent voters.
Secondly, effective brainwashing. The BJP brainwashing tricks aren’t mere political tricks but human psychology served on a platter. Identification of human behaviour is in its pulse. If a human being can be convinced he can be persuaded in another way too. Conscience is absent here. No not because some humans lack it. It’s a biological reality all humans have. Why doesn’t it strike, you might be wondering.
Let’s understand it in two alternative ways.
Say there are two groups. Group A believes that the king is representative of God on Earth. Group B doesn’t. Consider the king human being.
Group A – “Group B has insulted God by reducing him to the stature of a human.” Group B – “We spoke of the King not God.”
Here, group B too can apply the same logic and say you insulted God by reducing him to a king that is a human designation. This is cognitive dissonance. Believing in two contradictory things equally.
Another alternative scenario,
In North Korea disrespecting Kim’s family is considered blasphemy. A mother faced a jail term in January for trying to save her children instead of former President Kim Il-sung’s portrait in an inferno. To us it may look only obvious that you will save your child. It’s not a choice you made between the greater and the smaller evil. Neither a choice you made under compulsion nor a choice you made looking at the bigger picture.
For a North Korean resident, even a sympathetic person would settle for the last argument. However, there was no picture. Thus, the argument stands no valid ground at first place. Similarly when a person doesn’t know, that what he is doing is wrong he has no problem with it. It’s not that he is doing it deliberately with intention. He has not the awareness it’s wrong. Similarly, many Indians still who comprise a large chunk of the BJP vote base are unaware of its anti-democratic practices and are not politically educated. Many still lack basic political literacy due to faults in our education system. What about educated voters? Well, again you believe what you want to.
“This is the secret of propaganda: Those who are to be persuaded by it should be completely immersed in the ideas of the propaganda, without ever noticing that they are being immersed in it.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
Knowledge is from various sources. They have read textbooks but they have also watched conspiracy theories, and heard well planned speeches that are influential. What we hear impacts us more deeply than what we read. Perhaps, history is wrong, textbooks have been whitewashed is a popular theory prevalent that helps backs bjp other propaganda theories more.
“If you tell a lie long enough, it becomes the truth.” ~ Joseph Goebbels
There are three ways to make someone believe your lie. Lie multiple times. Lie big. Give half truth. People will then think , something must be true, if not everything. Amongst those there will be few who will also say, even if 4% of it is true, why should that be true. Even 4% shouldn’t be true. Such impulsive narratives lead to negative amplification. This works in BJP’s advantage because the enemy always takes the move you aren’t expecting. No, you can’t always be smart to predict it or guess it. There’s no human who cannot be fooled. Hard truth. But it’s true. It’s how you say something that matters more than what you have said.
This is why narcissists feel attacked when you contradict them or tell them they’ve done something wrong. This just doesn’t align with their inflated sense of self.
I would like to end my article saying with a request, please be observant of human behaviour. Never underestimate your enemy. Remember these tricks, stay tuned, for another part of this article coming soon. As Mr.Modi said in 2019 after article 370 removal it’s only a teaser, this too is a teaser. Don’t forget to like, share and comment if you liked reading this.
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Radhika Barman 