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Tag: Congress

  • Film stars hope to make hay by joining the political fray

    Film stars hope to make hay by joining the political fray

    NEW DELHI: Films like ‘Satta’, ‘Nayak’ and ‘Rajneeti’ in recent years, have shown the Bollywood filmmakers’ interpretation of the way politics works in this country. Not to forget movies like ‘Sarkar’ that exposes the links of the underworld with politicians.

     

    Perhaps this exposure to politics and largely the anti-corruption wave that swept the country in the wake of Anna Hazare’s movement has resulted in probably the largest number of film personalities enter the fray for the 2014 polls.

     

    Although all political parties have not made public their complete list, around 40 actors from across the country are in the election arena – revealing perhaps the largest participation from Bollywood and north India, since the participation of the film industry from south India has already been quite good.

     

    But for the film industry, five constituencies are going to be worth watching as they have actors pitted against each other. Perhaps the most glamorous poll fights is in Chandigarh, which will see actor former Miss India Gul Panag of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) pitted against her senior and very versatile actor Kirron Kher who has taken up cudgels for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though Panag was born in Sangrur, she has continued to live in Chandigarh, while the Chandigarh-born Kher has come into fray from this city though she lives in Mumbai.

     

    The not-so-‘khamosh’ Shatrughan Sinha is once again representing the BJP from Patna Saheb in Bihar where he will face Bhojpuri actor Kunal Singh of the Congress. Singh has stated that he is prepared to take up the challenge because he does not feel Sinha has done enough for the constituency.

     

    Mumbai North West will see a triple star fight: the verbose Kamal R Khan who often gets into controversies for his utterances is pitted as an independent against equally controversial star Rakhi Sawant who represents the Rashtriya Aam Party, and Mahesh Manjrekar who represents the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

    In Birbhum, the fight is between actor Satabdi Roy of the Trinamool Congress and actor Joy Banerjee of the BJP which has generally not done well in West Bengal and hopes star power may help.

     

    Singer Indranil Sen from TMC will take on actor Sidhanth Mahapatra of the Biju Janata Dal from Behrampur.

     

    In fact, the BJP has attracted the largest number of film personalities, particularly from Bollywood and north India. Some other film personalities representing the party are George Baker in Howrah, Nimu Bhowmik in Raiganj, versatile singer Bablu Supriya in Asansol, senior actor Hema Malini in Mathura, Hindi and Bhojpuri actor Manoj Tiwari in North East Delhi, music maestro Bappi Lahiri from Serampore, versatile actor Paresh Rawal from Ahmedabad East, veteran Vinod Khanna from Gurdaspur, and television actress Smiriti Irani from the high-profile constituency Amethi. 

     

    The Congress has roped in Kannada heroine Ramya in Mandya, actor Aparajita Mohanty in Cuttack, veteran Oriya film actor Bijay Mohanty from Bhubaneswar, Hindi and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan from Jaunpur, petite actress Nagma in Meerut, actor Jayasudha in Secunderabad, the high-profile Raj Babbar from Ghaziabad, Union Minister D Napoleon from Perambalur in Tamil Nadu, and actor Vijaya Shanthi from Medak.

     

    The Trinamool Congress is not far behind, with glamorous actor Moon Moon Sen in Bankura, reigning Bengali star Deb in Ghatal, Sandhya Sen in Midnapore, actor Soumitra Roy from Malda North, actor Arpita Ghosh in Balurghat, former Bollywood star Biswajit (Chatterjee) from New Delhi and actor Tapas Paul in Krishnagar.

     

    The AAP has roped in TV actress Rina Rani to contest from Maharajganj and the actor-dancer Javed Jaffery (son of former comedy actor Jagdeep) from Lucknow.

    Actor Innocent will represent the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from Chalakkudy in Kerala, renowned award-winning director will fight for the Janata Dal (United) from West Champaran in Bihar, former actor Jayaprada will be fighting this time on behalf of Rashtriya Lok Dal from Bijnor.

     

    Jayaprada initially represented the Telugu Desam Party, later switching to the Samajwadi Party and then moving to RLD after her friend Amar Singh was forced to leave SP.

     

    Rakhi Sawant says she is contesting the elections on the plank of restoring women’s safety in the metropolis. “I was offered a BJP ticket from Srirampur in West Bengal. But I am from Mumbai and know Hindi and Marathi. I don’t know the local language of West Bengal, so why should I stand from there?” she said while announcing her candidature.

     

    Actor Ramya (Divya Spandana) is the first female star from Karnataka to enter the Lok Sabha. Ramya joined the Youth Congress in 2011 and had campaigned for the party in the assembly elections.

     

    The final list is yet to come out, and so Punjabi pop singer Rabbi Shergil who has joined the AAP is also expected to contest, even as actor Murali Mohan is eyeing the Rajahmundry seat. Pawan Kalyan who formed the Jana Sena is hoping to contest from Kakinada.

     

    Some actors or film personalities who have got elected to Parliament in the past or are presently in the Rajya Sabha as elected or nominated members include Prakash Jha, Amitabh Bachchan, Govinda, Dharmendra, Shekhar Suman, singer Hans Raj Hans, Babu Mohan, Murli Mohan, Krishnam Raju, Nafisa Ali, late Sunil Dutt, Jaya Bachchan, late Rajesh Khanna, late N T Rama Rao, Vyjayanthimala Bali, late Dr Raj Kumar and K Chiranjeevi. The nominated members include Nargis Dutt, Lata Mangeshkar, Shabana Azmi, Rekha, and Javed Akhtar.

     

    Babu Mohan has joined the Telengana Rashtra Samiti to fight the assembly elections, while in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalitha will again represent the AIADMK in the assembly. Actor Jeevitha who joined the BJP is hoping to get an assembly seat, actor Nandamuri Balakrishna is also looking for a seat in Andhra Pradesh, while comedian Ali from the south and actor Ambreesh are not far behind in their quest. Vijay Kanth of the DMDK and U V Krishnamraju from the BIP are others in the fray for state assemblies.

     

    Almost all the film personalities in the fray have some controversy attached to their lives or their present campaign. Kamal Khan who is known to be outspoken had in one of his films added dialogues attacking the MNS announcements about outsiders in Mumbai, while actor Nagma has had to face people who have not just tried to grope her but Congress MLA Gaj Raj Sharma grabbed and kissed her during one of her campaigns. She has even been manhandled.

     

    Kirron Kher was met with black flags when she first came to Chandigarh and had to convince voters that she was indeed from Chandigarh, while actor-dancer Hema Malini has been booed for not daring to step out of her Audi as she moves around Mathura. And if she does peep out of the sun-shade of her car, it is only for a brief glimpse and visits to temples are in the midst of bouncers.

      
    Manoj Tiwari had earlier contested the national elections from the SP ticket in 2009 and is now representing BJP.

     

    Raj Babbar had won from Firozabad for a fourth term by defeating Dimple Yadav, wife of Akhilesh Yadav and daughter-in-law of Mulayam Singh Yadav, but has now been shifted to Ghaziabad.

     

    The versatile Aamir Khan has become the national icon of the Election Commission after the last episode of the second edition of Satyamev Jayate. A team from Doordarshan, EC’s official partner was rushed to shoot a video with Aamir Khan. Apart from the video, Khan has shot for an audio spot, urging the people to cast their votes. He says, “Rukey nahin, chookey nahin…vote zaroor daalein.”

     

    Singer Anoop Jalota will campaign for the BJP while Kapil Sharma and Soha Ali Khan will campaign for the Congress.

     

    While Bollywood has generally not been very successful in north India, the southern film industry is rich with examples of film-politicians. Since 1957 when actor S S Rajendran (SSR) entered the fray in Theni during the assembly elections to the then Madras State Legislative Assembly polls, the DMK and its 1972-offshoot AIADMK led by popular hero M G Ramachandran, have in most elections given tickets to stars.

     

    In the post-MGR era, the AIADMK, the DMK and other parties had fielded actors in Parliamentary and assembly elections since 1998, barring the 2004 Lok Sabha polls.

     

    The outgoing 15th Lok Sabha had two actor MPs, D Napoleon and Ritheesh, of the DMK. Now they have switched loyalties to suspended DMK leader M K Alagiri. Napoleon had earlier represented the Villivakkam Assembly constituency during 2001-06 and lost to comedian S V Shekhar in Mylapore in 2006.

     

    This time, the ruling AIADMK and DMK have trusted lawyers, businessmen, doctors and others than trying actors though initially there were speculations that yesteryear heroine Khushboo and Radhika Sarathkumar could fight it out in a constituency in Chennai.

     

    While the connection between Tamil cinema and politics goes back to the 1940s when DMK founder C N Annadurai and its present chief M Karunanidhi were script writers, SSR known as a ‘Latchiya Nadigar’ (Ambitious Actor), was the first screen star to join the fray. He had lost the 1957 election by 6,781 votes to a Congress candidate.

     

    However, in the 1962 assembly polls he created history by winning from Theni on a DMK ticket thus becoming the first actor in the world to enter an elected legislative body. In later years, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha and also won from the Andipatti Assembly constituency (MGR’s last represented constituency) in 1980 as an AIADMK candidate.

     

    MGR entered electoral politics only in 1967, winning from St Thomas Mount, while chief minister J Jayalalithaa became a Rajya Sabha member in 1984. The same year, the Congress had successfully fielded yesteryear actor Vyjayanthimala from the South Madras Lok Sabha constituency and she sprung as a surprise by defeating veteran politician Era Sezhiyan.

     

    But popular Sivaji Ganesan, one of the greatest actors in the world, had a failed political career though the Congress once made him a Rajya Sabha member. The Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani, which he launched after MGR’s death, failed to take off and he did not make it big as president of the Janata Dal (Tamil Nadu) unit either.

     

    Actor Sarathkumar was defeated in 1998 from the Tirunelveli Parliamentary constituency on a DMK ticket. Subsequently, he entered the Rajya Sabha and is now a MLA. In contrast, another actor Ramarajan, whose popularity was on the wane, got elected to the Lok Sabha from Tiruchendur as an AIADMK candidate in 1998.

     

    Another yesteryear MGR film heroine Latha lost her deposit when she contested from Dindigul in 1998 Lok Sabha polls on a MGRADMK ticket. The following year, voters of the constituency rejected DMK candidate actor S Chandrasekar.

     

    Similarly, in Periyakulam, villain Mansoor Ali Khan fielded by Puthiya Tamilagam, came third in 1999 but polled over 87,000 votes.

     

    Some of the Tollywood actors who made it to the assembly and Parliament (including Rajya Sabha) are: villain Radharavi (AIADMK), comedian S S Chandran (AIADMK), Vijayakant (DMDK), Arun Pandian (DMDK rebel), versatile film personality T Rajendar (DMK) and comedian Isari Velan (AIADMK).

  • Campaigning with a purpose

    Campaigning with a purpose

    MUMBAI: The countdown to the ‘who will claim the kursi’ has started and finally after spending enough and more moolah on advertising and campaigning, the world’s largest democracy will vote for its 16th Lok Sabha.

    Indiantelevision.com brings to you a roundup of all the television commercials launched by Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to woo the voters – young or old, man or woman – and what was the message the parties wanted to convey through these.

    Campaigns by Congress

    India’s transformation

    Storyboard: The ad focuses on one man who is taken aback with no ATMs, no flyovers or no mobile phones. Only to be woken up to the reality which is quite different. He is relieved to see that the amenities, which have become an integral part of our lives today, are back. He laughs off the dream and is happy about how our lives have changed in the past 10 years, thanks to all the development.

    Purpose of the ad: The adverts show the progress the country has made in the last 10 years i.e. under the UPA regime. Be it telecom, infrastructure or other facilities, everything has become a part of our lives.

    Click here to watch the video

    The video highlights the inclusive growth, economic development and social equity achieved through the various welfare schemes of the Central Government. It underscores the impact of policy decisions at the ground level for participatory governance within the right framework.

    Bharat Nirman

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: A police jeep enters a busy street where street vendors are galore. The police hawaldar screams on top of his voice from the jeep telling the vendors to shut their shops as it is not allowed. However, one vendor (selling golguppas) refuses to bow down to the halwaldar’s dhamkis of shifting his cart to some other place. He proudly tells the policeman that he has a government approved licence to work and that it is his right.

    Purpose of the ad: Through this campaign, Congress wants to highlight the scheme which helps street vendors. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Bill, 2014 which was passed by the Lok Sabha on 6 September 2013, provides for protection of livelihood rights and social security of street vendors.

    Kattar Soch Nahi, Yuva Josh

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: The TVC revolves around a youngster (Hasiba Amin, a youth congress representative) who says that since India is a young country where 50 per cent of the population is under 30 years, only a party which can understand their beliefs, expectations, mindset, problems and dreams needs to come to power. And the party which does so is none other than Congress. So, under the leadership of young Rahul Gandhi, the youngsters can grow. The mantra is ‘not extremist thinking, but youthful energy’.

    Purpose: To bring forward Rahul Gandhi’s ideology of approaching the youngsters to come together and work for the betterment of the country. RaGa’s vision suggests that we are young minds and should not believe in fanaticism but youthfulness.

    Har Haath Shakti, Har Haath Tarakki

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: Again in this TVC, a youngster (Shabbir Ahmad, a youth congress supporter) is shown talking about his credence in Rahul Gandhi’s vision that we need to bring a change in our country with RTI, Food Security Bill, Lokpal Bill and Employment guarantee. He supports the vision for future which is to have ‘more equal, more caring society.’

    Purpose:  The ad highlights the need for the society to stand together. It also says that it is under Congress’ guidance/ hand that the whole nation will develop. The ad also highlights how the party has given a common man the power through its various schemes and bills. And this will empower them.

    Congress Ke Mazboot Haath

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: Congress leaders like Sachin Pilot, Nirupam Roy, Jyotiraditya Scindia and many more can be seen sitting and discussing matters which concerns the nation and what can be done to address them. In the background, a song plays which symbolizes these politicians as Congress’ strong hands and it is they who will ensure that India moves forward.

    Purpose: Moving towards a stronger India, Congress soldiers will always ensure people’s betterment and it will continue its efforts to provide a happy and prosperous life for all.

    Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP): campaigns at a glance

    Ab Ki Baar, Modi Sarkar

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: The black and white advert highlights how even though the country has progressed and people have sent there girls for higher education and work in other cities, they are not at ease. The woman/mother in the ad, stresses on the fact that the country isn’t safe in current government’s hands as women aren’t safe.

    Purpose: After the Delhi gang rape case and many more that followed it, the campaign highlights the fact that the government has failed to provide safety to the women of the country and worse, hasn’t been able to punish the culprits.

    I will Choose BJP, My Vote for Modi

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: A cobbler is shown reciting how a party headed by a dynasty has ruled the country for years and has filled its own pockets, while the poor has remained stagnant. He goes on to say that this time he for his self-respect, will choose BJP and vote for Modi.

    Purpose: To showcase how poor have remained poor in the country while the politicians and others have filled their pockets.

    Vote for BJP

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: The animated ad shows an umpire and a cricketer being disturbed by people who want their wishes to be fulfilled. People are shown screaming ‘humari maange poori karo’ while demanding petty things.

    Purpose: These ads were launched during the T20 World Cup, and hence revolves around cricket (umpire and cricketers). The ads take a dig at Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

    BJP Anthem

    Click here to watch the video

    Storyboard: The anthem shows BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi swearing by the motherland that he will not let her get destroyed and everyone will get his/her due. People from different socio-economic backgrounds are shown highlighting their concerns – no jobs, no safety, no economic growth etc.

    Purpose: To bring to focus the scams and other issues concerning the common man to foreground. Through the anthem, the BJP is trying to give out a strong message to the voters, that if Modi comes to power, he will take the country to an upward growth.  

  • ‘Social Tracker’ to track LS elections

    ‘Social Tracker’ to track LS elections

    MUMBAI: With elections just a couple of days away, the debate over the role social media will play in these Lok Sabha elections has just got intensified.

     

    A plethora of politicians, political parties and their supporters have taken over the social media to reach out to the urban youngsters. The common man too has taken on to the digital world to express their views on various issues related to the general elections. The reason is simple: social media is free and democratic. One has the freedom to voice their opinion as well as get others involved in the information.

     

    This year’s FICCI Frames too explored the medium when it left the forum open for discussion on ‘Internet and Democracy: Interloper or Catalyst.’ The panelists during this forum discussed how Obama’s election campaign exploited the power of the social media to spread the word, garner support and get people engaged and how Indian politicians can also take a cue from it.

     

    To monetise on the trend, ‘To The New’, a social and mobile first digital service provider has launched a real-time tracker that evaluates digital conversations. The free-to-all ‘Social Tracker’ currently available on IBN Live gives people an insight on what conversations are happening on the general elections.

     

    “Thanks to mobile penetration and the free nature of social media, a lot of youngsters are on the medium apart from others who are following the elections closely. This tool will help not only the news portals, but also common man to know what is everyone talking about,” says Thoughtbuzz COO Ashok Patro.

     

    He adds, “Political parties and politicians too have realized the importance social media has and that is the reason why they are so active in the virtual world this time around.”

     

    The digital agency uses its expertise to track what is happening across social media platforms – blogs, forums, twitter, facebook etc. And this is what separates them from the likes of Google trends or twitter trends, boasts Patro.

     

    Currently, ‘Social Tracker’ works on a dashboard, Omnio and has three panelists analysing these trends 24*7.  “While currently we are available on IBN Live, we have also been approached by other news portals and the discussion for the same is on,” says Patro when asked where all will it be available in the future. However, he clarifies that each portal will get something different because like various polls and surveys conducted by channels and research firms, they all want something different to offer to their viewers.

     

    Parties, personalities/politicians, in general conversations and trends on LS elections is what the tracker focuses on.   “The conversations keep changing, but we always focus on top five parties. Out of this, Congress, BJP and AAP (in no particular order) form the top three while the other two vary on issues discussed on a particular day,” informs Patro.

     

    Apart from daily analysis, there is a weekly analysis done as well for the weekends.

  • Want to woo youngsters? Depend on youth channels

    Want to woo youngsters? Depend on youth channels

    MUMBAI: In-branding is not unusual today as we see superstars selling the brands they endorse even in their films. Remember Chennai Express and how Shah Rukh Khan endorsed the features of the new Nokia mobile (of which he is also a brand ambassador) in the film. And if you thought it was just him, then you are wrong. Hrithik Roshan starrer Krrish 3 had a host of FMCG products being promoted through the movie. 

     

    The phenomenon has not spared the small screen as well. Right from the brands to film stars, the small screen has become a popular destination for promotion. However, this time around there is a twist.

     

    With the nation gearing for the upcoming elections, the political parties are doing all that they can to get voters to get inked. This election season the parties are finding innovative ways to connect with the audiences, especially the youth. And if you watch Channel V India, a youth entertainment channel, you would know what we are hinting at.

     

    The main characters of various shows on the channel can be seen talking about how prices have risen in the past years or how it is the time to bring change. This, while a ticker/astrix runs with BJP’s symbol and message.

     

     The political parties – Congress and Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) – both in their mission to woo the first-time voters are now targeting youth channels.

     

    “Youth channels are the best way to catch the attention of first-time voters and since we are using different strategies, we thought of trying this as well,” says a source from the media agency handling BJP’s mandate.

     

    The source goes on to say that it is a “different” way to reach our audience. And, one will see a lot of astrixs and L- shaped advertisements on various GECs as well as news channels till the elections commence.

     

    While BJPs in-branding campaign on shows started last week, the Congress had bought ad-spots on Channel V I almost a month back.

     

    Channel V, itself, through various initiatives, is encouraging youngsters to go out and vote. “This doesn’t mean we support a particular party over the other. These are just commercial deals which we sign with agencies handling the parties. There is no association with any party,” clarifies Channel V India, GM & channel head Prem Kamath.

     

    So, the next time you tune in to shows like Sadda Haq or Dil Dosti Dance, on Channel V, do not miss out on the message from the lead characters to go out and vote.

  • Narendra Modi gets chatty with ETV

    Narendra Modi gets chatty with ETV

    JAIPUR: BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, while for the first time giving a long interview to ETV, during the electioneering environment, has expressed that in the Indian politics this will be an election of hope. Because, the people have lost faith not only on Congress Party and its Prime Minister, but also on the system named government. That is why the first priority should be to get back the faith of the people.

    The interview of Narendra Modi has been telecast on all ETV channels. It will be re-telecast at 8.30 pm during Central Hall Programme. Head of ETV News Network, Jagdish Chandra on this occasion said that during the Lok Sabha Elections, the channel has started a series of programmes for bringing national issues and opinions of national leaders on those issues to the common people. This series has started with the interview with Narendra Modi. Narendra Modi is believed to be very near to be the next Prime Minister. Nearly 240 channels’ applications are pending with Narendra Modi for getting his interview. But, to make reach his voice to 35 crore viewers, he chose first ETV.

    For ETV’s programme “Central Hall”, Senior Journalist Harishankar Vyas took interview of  Narendra Modi. In reply to his question on “Congress Free India”, Modi said that it means Corruption free India, Dynasty free India, Free from Undemocratic methods, Free from misuse of constitutional agencies of India, Free from price rise and free from threat to India. Because, Congress has become a medium for all these. Hence Congress Free India call has been given. When, he is saying Congress free India, that means he is calling to free from the work culture that has been developed in India over sixty years by Congress. And also for the free from vote bank policy adopted by Congress.

    On a question that previously some non-Congress governments also functioned similar to Congress during their tenure, Modi replied that except Atal Bihari Vajpayee, all others heading non-Congress governments, were having Congress Gotra (lineage). They had been groomed in Congress. Only due to personal differences or for any other political reasons they had been separated from Congress.

    Narendra Modi also said that he has a clear picture in mind on what will be his priorities after forming government. Administrative system has to be revived to uplift the poor. Modi asserted that he doesn’t consider himself as Hero. His commitment is for the poor, farmer, youth, women and jawans.

    Narendra Modi during his 66 minutes interview openly discussed on National and International issues, safety and army related issues and also on economic reforms issues. In between, the interview, ETV News Network Head Jagdish Chandra presenting the reviews said that Modi wants to implement the Gujarat Model across the nation, which will be a big challenge before him. In addition to this, Modi tried to refute the allegations labeled against him by highlighting economic issues. Assuring to spread Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ambitious project of inter linking rivers, Modi hinted of bringing a new turn in economic system. Modi during the discussion also hinted that RSS life vision can be seen in his work style.

    Commenting on UPA government, Narendra Modi said that their policies are of vote bank policies. They run the government to win  the elections and we want to run the government to empower the people. For them, grabbing power is everything, and we want to empower the people. Vote bank based policies empty the government treasury and term these as economic reforms. There is a need to weed out huge obsolete laws. Even after the files complete 40 Dhams (holy places), it never completes the journey. Modi also expressed his views on development of agriculture, Shipping Industry and tourism. On replying to a question, Modi said that his think tank will be 125 crore public.

    Narendra Modi, showed interest in Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Sashtri. Replying a question on Health issues, Modi said that Gandhiji had always talked about hygiene, but we couldn’t teach our children about those culture. We will present a Clean India on Gandhiji’s 150th anniversary. We should think on being healthier than suffer from diseases. We want to set up one medical colleges in each district. Modi cleverly avoided the reservation issue and said that he raised the number of seats in Engineering and Medical Colleges to such an extent that everyone can get opportunity to study. He gave priority to increase job opportunities for youths.

    Narendra Modi, during his interaction with ETV, for the first time spoke about his personal life and interests. He said that he likes to listen music, especially instrumental music. He also likes to trek in mountains and Himalaya is his favorite place. He used to read lot of books in his village library during childhood. But, now he doesn’t get time to read. He also said that he never dreamed of being something, and never told young people to dream to become someone. But, yes, he dreams to do something and advises the young to dream of doing something. And he left home, left family, and left village, only to do something for Mother India. Not to be something.

  • Election tracker: Battling it, out-of-home

    Election tracker: Battling it, out-of-home

    MUMBAI: This general election may be the first among many, where media has been so extensively (and blatantly) used by political parties and their prime ministerial hopefuls.

     

    Far from fighting shy of marketing themselves, the main players – Congress and BJP – have spent nearly Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore each on publicity campaigns. An additional Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 crore will be spent on related activities such as banners, hoardings, organization of public meetings and transportation of key campaigners, among others. Not surprisingly, media agencies estimate around 2 to 2.5 per cent of overall advertisement spends this year to come from elections.

     

    One can switch a channel, turn a page or surf away, but hoardings are hard to ignore or even miss. And this is the reason why of the whole advertising budget, parties are spending approximately 10-15 per cent of the total budget i.e. close to Rs300-400 crore on OOH, if not less, as per industry sources.

     

    Possibly, with advertising rates on general entertainment channels (GECs) on television being prohibitive and posters having been banned in several cities of the country, outdoor remains the only viable option for election propaganda as it is cost-effective and has high reach as well. So you have hoardings of calling for a ‘Modi Sarkar’ or boating of ‘Bharat Nirman’ with NamO and RaGa staring down at you from the most non-descript locations in the country. What’s more, they have illumination for better visibility at night.

     

    With elections just round the corner, outdoor advertising has picked up significantly, mostly fuelled by political parties, which is quite unlike the usual scenario where outdoor advertising is more prominent during the second half of the year.

     

    Speaking of the growing appeal of OOH, Madison OOH Media Group CEO Arminio Ribeiro, says: “Given the flexibility of this medium in terms of narrow- and broad- casting and its localization and rapid awareness build-up benefits, outdoor has appealed to political parties to get their message across to the electorate through its multiple formats.”

     

    In order to get the best quality hoarding, tapping the most crowded route through buses or railway has certainly increased the competition. Everyone is trying to avail the benefit of this golden opportunity and those who have the diverse range of inventories are the main gainers.

     

    Sanjeev Gupta, managing director of Global Advertisers, which has been roped in for outdoor by both Congress and BJP, says, “With changing trends, political parties have also changed their approach and have become more professional. Therefore, our media plan included a mix of outdoor inventories to expand the reach of these campaigns and we expect to see more demand for outdoor in the coming months.”

     

    While Postercope Asia Pacific regional director, Haresh Nayak, says: “Tier II and Tier III markets have been the focus for the last year, continuing to grow this year as well, showing deep penetration in rural areas to create brand awareness.”

     

     Indeed, the FICCI-KPMG 2014 report finds that the OOH industry has grown by 5.5 per cent from CAGR (2007 to 2013), what with clients from real estate, telecom, media, auto, and now politics, driving it forward.

  • ABP-Nielsen poll: BJP and Congress gain from AAP’s loss

    ABP-Nielsen poll: BJP and Congress gain from AAP’s loss

    MUMBAI: News channel ABP that carries out its election poll in association with research agency Nielsen India has come up with its latest prediction on which party’s shares have dropped or gained in the recent past.

    The opinion poll conducted between 9 March-16 March 2014 with 456 respondents claims a margin of error of ±5 per cent.

    The new poll predicts that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by Arvind Kejriwal is set to lose a few vote shares in Delhi. “It is likely to get around 34 per cent vote share and three seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as compared to 55 per cent vote share in the opinion poll conducted in January 2014,” says the poll statement.

    Congress on the other hand is predicted to be putting on a few extra vote shares which is an improvement from the poll prediction in January. According to the ABP News-Nielsen poll, ‘Congress is likely to benefit by AAP’s loss and is predicted to get a vote share of 28 per cent and one seat as compared to 14 per cent in February 2014 and nine per cent in January 2014’.

    Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to get 32 per cent vote share and three seats which is higher than the 30 per cent vote share and one seat that was predicted in February 2014 and 29 per cent share in January 2014.

    The ‘Kaun Banega Pradhanmantri’ (KBP) poll has also been launched as an application for android users that will allow subscribers to get updates about the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The app has sections such as top news, city polls, KBP show videos and live TV.

  • Election tracker: Cricket over News

    Election tracker: Cricket over News

    The upcoming election is not just being fought on the ground; political parties have laid siege to airwaves as well.

     

    So much so, followers of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup will vouch for the fact that ‘commercial breaks’ are beginning to resemble the battle cry of the main contenders as they unleash newer segments of their respective campaigns on unsuspecting viewers.

     

    Not without reason for in a country where cricket is religion, the ‘clever’ agencies behind these rival campaigns are only putting their money where their mouth is.

     

    And so we have the Congress continuing to showcase all the good work done in the past decade, with the common man always at the centre, even in the new TVCs. While BJP changes its hitherto serious tone and takes a dig at the Congress in a rather comical way. Whether the saffron party has diluted the message it wants to send out is something the audience may continue to debate but one way or the other, cricket comes across as a critical component of the election strategy.

     

    Speaking of reach, daily soaps on general entertainment channels are watched by a majority of women in the country. With women forming 49 per cent of the voting population, the main players in this election can least afford to ignore this format. Neither can they shrug off the growing importance of digital platforms; especially in an election year when there will be close to 12 crore first-time voters, most of them always online. Hence, political outfits, even the likes of CPI (M), are pulling out all stops to woo the youth in the virtual world to get them to cast their vote in the real world.  

     

    Surprisingly however, news channels are still untouched by the flurry of political advertisements. In case you’re wondering why, news channels don’t enjoy the kind of reach that other television channels, say GECs, do. Then again, eyeballs will flow to news channels closer to the election dates for news and analyses. Maybe, that’s when the ad blitzkrieg will hit these channels as well…

  • LCOs list grievances for new government to address

    LCOs list grievances for new government to address

    NEW DELHI: Hurt by the manner in which they have been forced to adapt to digital access systems without proper safeguards for their minimum incomes, organisations of cable television operators have sought a review of digitisation and action against the people involved in creating large media monopolies from all the political parties.

     

     In a letter sent to all the main political parties in the fray for the forthcoming general elections, the National Cable and Telecommunication Association (NCTA) and Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) on behalf of 60,000 local cable operators have listed certain demands that should be considered by all the political parties.

     

     They have sought extension of the cable TV digitisation process by allowing analogue transmission of about basic 30 to 36 TV channels including all Doordarshan services. This step is for avoiding any black-outs.

     

    The government should also instruct the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to ensure a level playing field for all the stake holders in the distribution value chain with a prescribed revenue share arrangement on non discriminatory terms. “It should also fix reasonable and affordable prices for the Pay TV channels and ensure that the advertisement cap for the pay TV channels should be lowered to maximum six minutes in an hour,” said the letter.

     

     The letter also highlighted the issue of the 10+2 advertisement cap regulation for FTA (free to air) channels. “It must be made mandatory,” the letter stated.

     

    Apart from this, there were also demands like finalising strict guidelines on cross media holdings and checking monopoly in the cable TV industry. “The Government should implement phase III and phase IV of digitisation only if there is adequate supply of Indian Set Top Boxes (STB), and the industry should get a subsidy on the excise and VAT till digitisation is achieved 100 per cent in the country.”

     

     The government should abolish entertainment tax levied by the various state governments and TV viewing should be termed as an essential information service.

     

    The memorandum have been sent to major political parties and leaders like Narendra Modi of BJP, Rahul Gandhi of Congress and Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi.

     

    According to NCTA president Vikki Choudhary and COFI president Roop Sharma, the new Union government should conduct an enquiry on the implementation of mandatory digitisation of cable TV.

  • BJP’s campaign is dull, drab and quite ordinary: Prathap Suthan

    BJP’s campaign is dull, drab and quite ordinary: Prathap Suthan

    MUMBAI: The upcoming election is possibly the only one in a long history of five-year polls, where political parties are unabashedly using media to promote their prime ministerial candidates and agendas.

    Thus we have both the main players – the Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) – splurging crores of public money on election campaigns in a bid to outdo each other. Indeed, Congress was the first to jump into the fray with the tagline ‘Main nahi, Hum’ which attracted much controversy, what with the BJP claiming the punch line had originally been used by its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at a ‘Chintan Shivir’ in Gujarat.

    However, the BJP lost no time in launching its own campaign with posters, TVCs, radio spots shouting themselves hoarse – ‘Ab ki Baar, Modi Sarkar’. The underlying message being that the common man’s woes such as inflation, lack of women’s safety etc. would be assuaged if Modi was elected for the country’s top job.

    With the political climate hotting-up this election season, both campaigns are attracting their fair share of bouquets and brickbats. But we thought it would be interesting to speak to Prathap Suthan – the man who created BJP’s earlier ‘India Shining’ campaign (2004) – and get his perspective. Excerpts…

    What do you have to say about the BJP slogan? Do you see it touching an emotional chord with urban and rural voters?

    Barring the fact that it rhymes, I don’t think it’s an inspiring slogan. It’s a mere auto suggestion as to what the voter should do. It doesn’t hold out any promise, mission and vision to people like us. It’s dull, drab and quite ordinary.

    Do you think the BJP has started too early or too late?

    The BJP campaign is at least a month late. Worse still, despite the fact they have started and bits and pieces are making their way onto social media, they have been invisible. Till yesterday, I haven’t seen their advertising in print or on TV. Anymore invisibility and they’d be sending out wrong signals to the electorate. But knowing them, and their almost strident confidence, I suspect their cause has been sabotaged by terrible media planning or a media boycott. I can’t think of any other reason why their campaign hasn’t broken out in media yet.

    Modi stands for development. Do you think the current campaign and slogan brings out this core message?

    If the Modi line of thinking has to do with progress and development, the campaign should have been a reflection of that. This is a boring campaign. I see no cues of development and young and contemporary thinking in this. Congress on the other hand, despite whatever else, has better looking advertising by far.

    What are your views on the AAP and the way they use publicity in their favour?

    I used to like the idea of AAP. But somewhere, they’ve changed into something else that they shouldn’t be.

    Considering that they don’t have the kind of media budgets that the main parties have, their public activist avatar keeps them in view. It is clever thinking because media will carry and play the de facto advertising vehicle. However, too of much of everything has a down side. You can’t be a serious national party when you pick up street fighting as a brand character. At some level, it will backfire. Leadership, and genuinely inspiring stewardship of the nation is what’s missing today, and AAP isn’t quite playing that wedge.

    One piece of advice you’d like to give to the creative and media agencies that are handling the BJP and Congress accounts?

    There is no point advising advertising agencies. I believe all of us are equally qualified and experienced to handle large campaigns. We do that day in day out, and on some very challenging focussed briefs. In this case, the client takes the call and at times, dictates. The fault, if any, doesn’t lie with the agencies. It has to squarely lie with the parties.

    Lastly, of the two parties, which is the campaign you are betting on and why?

    I think the country is loaded in favour of BJP – but they have an uninspiring campaign. One man almost looms over you. Congress, however, seems to have delivered the campaign better. It’s younger looking, modern, non-traditional, and in a strange way, more inclusive.