Opposition will have to contest mega image of PM Modi who is perceived as a yugpurush.
It is almost clear now, that the coming parliamentary election-2024 is going to be a direct contest between Bhartiya Janaa Party (BJP) led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and Congress lead I. N. D. I. A.in many Indian states. The lead image of N. D. A. will be certainly PM Narendra Modi and from I.N. D. I. A. alliance Rahul Gandhi may emerge as lead image of his alliance. It is true that the PM Narendra Modi’s image is far ahead from any leader of the country, in terms of its acceptance and popularity among Indian masses. Rahul Gandhi is constantly trying to weave his image through his various political actions and campaigns such as Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyaya yatra. Here my focus would be discussing making and remaking of ‘Rahul Gandhi’s image’ in recent past and its possible impact on coming parliamentary election. A popular leader produces multiple images which may converge in one and may communicate unbroken, clear and cohesive massage. Is it happening with the RG image.
When Rahul Gandhi (RG) entered in politics, people use to see him as a heir of ‘Nehru-Indira Gandhi legacy’. There was lot of expectation of the public and congress itself and also lot of dependence on his political potential. But slowly Rahul Gandhi could not perform as desired by his party, its followers and also a section of public who use to keep soft corner for the Congress tradition of politics. His prevalent images for decades- failed to build up sufficient trust among public. The lac of sufficient trust of the public on his images became one of the main causes of the constant electoral failure of the Congress.
In fact, Congress could not understand -a new emergence of the politics of the images through various forms of media especially though social media.PM Narendra Modi and his party Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) were far ahead in understanding and assessing this new sift of political mobilization. This new shift was centered on -making, remaking the political images of the leader through various political actions and creative use of media- especially social media. So, Rahul Gandhi and congress party entered in this politics of the images very late. When they entered in it, his various contesting images started emerging such as –‘a soft looking person performing as a young angry man’, trying to ‘ depart from conventional congress middle path leaders to right based activist kind of leader’ etc. These all contradictions started getting reflected reflected in his image making process and fractured the cohesive massaging of his image. These contradictions d in fact disturbed the evolving impacts of his images.
Secondly, He and his advisors fail in understanding the Grammer of the making of images and their reception politics. They could not understand that image can’t grow against stable nature of personality of the leader. If some one does that, it may look like drama or mere performance. This kind of impression if get attached with the image of a leader, may decrease trust value of the leader and his image.
Rahul Gandhi and his team tried to cultivate his various images during Bharat Jodo yatra through various forms of media. They used photos, slogans, narratives extensively to build up his image as a leader of alternative pro people politics in India. They are trying to extend the same image strategy in his currently on-going Bharat judo Nyaya Yatra. But problem of this image making strategy is that it is also producing a deep mobilizational contradiction. On the one hand-his image managers are presenting him as a leader of all but on the other hand he is arguing for the politics of caste census based conventional social justice politics which always produce social versus based on inclusion-exclusion politics determined by caste identities. This contradiction between narratives and images is disturbing the entire process of his image formation in current time.
His image making team forgets that they are working to carve an image of a leader to contest against highly influential and cohesive image of PM Narendra Modi which never produce contradictions within his various images. One may find an interconnection and effective progression among various images of PM Narendra Modi which emerge by his various political decisions and mobilizational actions.
One of recent statement of Rahul Gandhi during his ongoing Bharat Jodo Nyaya yatra in which he talked about alcoholic nature of a section of youths of Kashi has created heated discussion among youths of Uttar Pradesh. PM Narendra Modi criticized his statement about the youths of Kashi without any delay. Such statement delivered by the leader who aspire to carve his image as youth icon make dents in his image.
In my view coming 2024 election is going to be war of images. The narratives will supplement the images. Rahul Gandhi, Congress and India alliance want to create- a rainbow alliance of the images combining- the leaders of regional parties and Conges in which Rahul Gandhi and his images may play crucial role in the election campaign of coming 2024, parliamentary election. All these images of leaders of opposition will have to contest mega image of PM Narendra Modi who is being perceived a section of youths of Uttar Pradesh as yug-purush.