Political Kiss-Up and Up
Raju Narisetti -
Saturday, October 04, 2008 4:31 PM
Two separate but somewhat related news items caught my eye this weekend. One was about the Indian government, led by the Congress party, announcing several economic and aid packages with an eye toward key state elections (read full story here). The other story was on that Congress party has picked Crayons as the ad agency that will handle its advertising for the next national election.
While this is good news for the newspaper industry, as a reader you can't but help notice that in New Delhi at least, it is impossible to read any newspaper these days without coming across government ads that have rather openly been turned into political advertising as New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and her party head into what many expect will be a tough reelection campaign. The ads vary in the level of sycophancy. Here are some examples of what I mean:
Exhibit A: Kissing Up to the Boss
Total Largesse: Across 2 politicians
This one is how Delhi has revised its Dearness Allowance for industrial workers based on the average increase in the Consumer Price Index. Fairly automatic though clearly Delhi's Labor Minister Mangat Ram Singhal and his Labor Department know who is the boss (especially ahead of a tough relection campaign.)
Exhibit B: The Boss and kissing up to Her Real Boss, and throw in an assorted group of local and central politicians
Total Largesse: Across 6 politicians
Mrs Dikshit to lay the foundation stone of a flyover in Delhi, paid for by the Public Works Department of the Government of Delhi. At least the CM is involved.
Exhibit C: Kiss up one level and, to be very safe, kiss one level up from there as well.
Total Largesse: Across 5 politicians
A Delhi minister to lay foundation stone for a state Directorate of Health Services hospital, with a local MP and MLA thrown in. But, making sure the CM is happy and so is the CM's political boss Sonia Gandhi.
If you think Delhi has a monopoly on sycophancy, here is one from Andhra Pradesh, a swing state that could make or break the Congress party's future in New Delhi.
Exhibit D: Making Sure No Politician is Left Behind
Total Largesse: 26 politicians, including 12 with mug shots.
In a state where there is a thin line between state and party machinery, Chief Minister Rajasekhara Reddy is laying the foundation stone for a super speciality hospital with bunch of central and state ministers, members of Parliament and members of state assembly in tow. All, of course, from the ruling Congress party.
I don't know how many of you are old enough to recall but a decade or two ago, when public money was being spent on such ads, often the ads also featured the local MP/MLA even if they were from the opposition party. But such bipartisanship has long gone out of government-funded ads as the ruling parties of all hues have piggybacked on such spending to highlight their party politicians and no one else. That courtesy has now been left to non-government organizations and private instutions, which, in one sense, can't afford to alienate any politician. Here is what I mean:
Exhibit E: Covering all political bases, just in case:
Total Largesse: 2 politicians, 2 different parties
Both a UPA Minister as well as State BJP Chief Minister get billing though one wonders a bit about the slightly larger size of the Raje's picture.
What is more troubling to me is how public sector units have embraced this cult of sycophancy in ernest and routinely use their organization's money as huge billboards for politicians and ministers. Here is a good example:
Exhibit F: Have One True Boss, Will Kiss up Big Time
Total Largesse: 2 politicians, one billboard style
One can understand a picture of the branch being actually opened but this ad ran before this ribbon cutting homage to the Finance Minister.
Then there are the PSU's that have taken the cult of personality from politicians and simply adapted it. Here is one that comes to mind:
Exhibit G: I am the Boss, Just In Case You Don't Know, Let me Show You
Total Largesse: 3-in-one
An ONGC Annual General Meeting ad with three pictures of the Chairman and Managing Director. Oil for Food for Thought!
Don't get me wrong. In a country where newspapers are probably the largest, single subsidized private industry and where ads such as these provide plenty of revenue to newspapers, this isn't about good or bad ads. Most of these ads are awful anyway, from a creativity and reader interest point of view, thanks to much of advertising stemming from government departments and bureaucrats. But the newspaper industry could surely use this ad money in order to get newspapers that, on average cost Rs 8 for just ink and paper alone, to many more Indian readers for Rs 2 or less.
Still, as we head into state and then national elections in India, wouldn't it be nice if the Indian Election Commission, rather than trying to put ineffective controls on how much parties and politicians can spend, come up with a simple set of advertising guidelines? Rules that say if the ads are being paid for by the government or a public sector entity, photographs of random politicians and ministers ought not to take centerstage (if they are used at all) but maybe run the size of postage stamps at the very bottom of the ad, especially in the run-up to the elections? I mean, go ahead and advertise your state's new hospitals, roads, flyovers but keep politics out of it before and during elections.
I am a free markets guy at heart, so suggesting the Election Commission put specific content curbs on advertising isn't something that comes easily. But a level playing field on this front, rather than give a ruling party all the advantage, seems rather easy to achieve with some basic ad guidelines instead of the Commission saying no to any ads but then helplessly standing by when political parties and politicians spend millions in other forms of vote buying/propoganda and run circles around the Commission.