’Tis the season to be looking for ‘X of the Year’ – actor of the year, sportsperson of the year, politician of the year, person of the year, icon of the year etc. In the same spirit, the word of the year for Indian politics would have to be ‘panauti’ (bad omen).
The word turned into a hashtag when pro-Congress handles on social media blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s presence for India’s heart-breaking ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup loss to Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Gujarat. It was lent legitimacy when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi introduced it in his campaigning vocabulary in recently held Assembly elections in five states.
Campaigning in Rajasthan’s Jalore, Rahul Gandhi called PM Modi “panauti”, giving a platform to fringe social media posts that India had lost the World Cup final due to the Prime Minister’s presence at the stadium. “Acchhe bhale hamare ladke wahan pe World Cup jeet jaate, par panauti ne harwa diya (Our boys would have won the World Cup, but the ‘bad omen’ made them lose),” the former Congress president said.
It was a politically immature line to take but the Congress doubled down on it following Rahul Gandhi’s use of the word. On November 24, the party posted an edited photo of the Prime Minister on social media captioned “PANAUTI-E-AZAM”. The BJP moved the Election Commission, following which the poll body issued a show-cause notice to Rahul Gandhi.
The word ‘Panauti’ kept getting bigger in the political discourse – until it blew up in the Congress’s face. The party lost Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to the BJP, failed to unseat the saffron party in Madhya Pradesh and had to contend with just the win in Telangana. Perhaps the Congress and Rahul Gandhi would have done well to learn from recent history. Each time the opposition targeted PM Modi with a pejorative moniker, it has backfired. Be it the ‘neech’ slur or ‘Gabbar Singh Tax’ (a pun on Goods and Services Tax introduced in 2017), none of its barbs have hit the target. Similar attempts proved disastrous for the party before 2019 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
‘CHOWKIDAR HI CHOR HAI’ IN 2019
When India entered the general election year in 2019, the alleged Rafale scandal (in which the Supreme Court cleared the central government of any wrongdoing) snowballed into a massive political controversy. Rahul Gandhi led the attack, alleging that a scam had taken place in the purchase of Rafale warplanes from France.
Taking off from PM Modi’s statement where he called himself the nation’s ‘chowkidar’’ or guardian, Rahul Gandhi called the Prime Minister a ‘chor’. The phrase ‘Chowkidar Hi Chor Hai’ went on to become the Congress’s campaign slogan for general elections.
And then the Prime Minister turned the narrative on its head, adding ‘Chowkidar’ to his social media handles. Soon, all BJP leaders and millions of his supporters did the same. The BJP took this a step further and launched the campaign ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ (I Am a Gaurd Too). All BJP leaders, including Amit Shah, started tweeting with the hashtag, making it highly successful.
As elections neared, PM Modi tweeted: “Your Chowkidar is standing firm & serving the nation. But, I am not alone. Everyone who is fighting corruption, dirt, and social evils is a Chowkidar. Everyone working hard for the progress of India is a Chowkidar. Today, every Indian is saying ‘Main bhi Chowkidar’.”
Addressing nearly 25 lakh security guards via an audio link in March 2019, the Prime Minister said a few people were running a “propaganda campaign” against ‘chowkidars’ for their vested interests. “Repeatedly calling chowkidars a thief is an insult to all chowkidars,” he had said.
The result was that the BJP retained power with a bigger mandate than 2014 — a phenomenal 303 seats.
‘CHAIWALA’ IN 2014
Right before the 2014 general elections, when BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was reaching out to the common people on the advice of poll strategist Prashant Kishore through his ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ events, former Union minister and Congress leader Manishankar Aiyar made a comment.
Mocking Modi’s formative years when he used to sell tea at a railway station to earn a living, Aiyar said the Congress would welcome him to “sell tea” at Congress meetings. Aiyar went on to claim that Modi, then Gujarat Chief Minister, could never become Prime Minister but was welcome to “sell tea” at a Congress conclave which was underway.
Aiyar’s statement sealed the Congress’s fate.
The BJP made it one of the talking points at its rallies, with its leaders selling tea and visiting tea stalls. Ever since, Narendra Modi has made numerous references to his humble background, wearing his childhood struggles like a badge of honour. The Congress, which had been in power for two consecutive terms, was decimated in 2014 as the BJP swept to absolute majority with 282 seats. The Congress was reduced to just 44.
The grand old party’s bad luck with attacks on Modi goes back to 2007 when then UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi targeted him with a derogatory phrase. It heavily backfired and Modi, then Gujarat CM, called it an attack on all Gujaratis. The Congress lost the Gujarat elections and the BJP retained power with 117 seats in the 182-member Assembly. The Congress managed only 59 seats.
Given that it refuses to learn from history, is the Congress doomed to repeat it in 2024?
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