The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : Q & A: Pramod Mahajan

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Thursday, Apr 22, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

Q & A: Pramod Mahajan

As the CEO behind the Bharatiya Janata Party's poll management team, Pramod Mahajan is the man behind the Vajpayee brand project. He does not shy away from using gimmicks to sell his product. Here is what he had to say when he talked to Neena Vyas:

As the BJP's chief poll manager do you think "selling" party slogans is much like selling soap or dalda? Is a clever sales pitch more important than the product?

No. I don't think you can compare elections, where you project — I don't say sell — your party with selling consumer goods. Serious election issues cannot be compared to dalda or soap.

At the same time, traditional electioneering methods have changed over the years. When you want to reach 60 million voters, symbolism has its own impact.

Take leadership. I will not talk about Nehru, because at that time the election scene was totally different. But certainly Indira Gandhi — not Rajiv... he was really never tested; the 1984 election results were part of his heritage and in 1991 he would not have won a majority — and now, in the last few elections, Mr. Vajpayee has become some kind of a brand. Nehru was a brand name even before 1947, Indira Gandhi certainly became a brand at the national level, and lately, Mr. Vajpayee has turned into a brand. Managing elections can be compared to marketing goods, but the basics are different.

Have you perfected this art?

Certainly we have made the art of electioneering modern. That does not mean we have left our traditional ways of gathering votes. The Prime Minister is all-powerful with a 60 per cent popularity rating. But people do not elect a Prime Minister, they elect an MP. How do we merge this? I found a way of doing this through personalised audio-video messages from the Prime Minister recommending a particular candidate to voters of that specific constituency.

We selected 363 and there is not much discontent even in relation to a dozen ... we used not only traditional inputs from State and district leaders but also based the choice on extensive surveys ... and we got our candidate when the two inputs matched.

The BJP always described the Congress not as a party but a group around a leader. Now it seems the BJP has outshone the Congress in glorifying its leader ...

Frankly, I do not agree with this. I might agree with the last part ... you see, Mr. Vajpayee was always there, he was always number one, but the Vajpayee brand was not there in the past. In a competitive market when you have a person, why not use him? I will deny the other part because the BJP is still basically a cadre-based party.

The Congress was not a cadre-based party. Right from the freedom struggle days, it was a kind of a movement ... when the influence of the Congress began eroding it became a party of important individuals at all levels. The BJP was always a party of workers. We have a leader, we are using him as a brand, and I don't deny that. But at the same time, our organisational strength is intact. We have not become dependent on just Mr. Vajpayee. Brand Vajpayee is my bonus, but my basic pay comes from my organisation.

What after Mr. Vajpayee, after L.K. Advani?

Frankly, you can't predict these things. One doesn't know how the 2009 election will go ... I don't think there will be a struggle for the (next generation) leadership. It is human to aspire to reach the top. But the kind of organisational mechanism we have in the BJP, and the connections we have with the RSS ... I don't see the party facing a problem for want of a leader.

Do you think there has been an overkill with your `feel-good' and `India Shining' campaign? Have these slogans become a joke?

I don't think `feel-good' has become a joke or an insult. Even when some people use the expression `feel good' as part of a joke, it shows that the message has reached ... it is being used for cricket, for the sensex, in newspaper headlines. Whether you use or abuse `feel good', you cannot ignore it. That is a sign of success; it is the best phrase we have ever come up with in an election ... as for `India Shining', in any kind of campaign the law of diminishing returns sets in ...

The BJP claims it is truly secular, that the Congress and others are `pseudo-secular.' But with a `guru' like M.S. Golwalkar who stated that Muslims and Christians can only be second class citizens, and partners like the Shiv Sena, associates like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, and your very own Narendra Modi, can that claim be taken seriously?

Basically, the proof of the pudding is in the eating ... before you get into Gujarat and what happened there, just remember that at the national level we have been ruling for five years. We ruled in Maharashtra, with the Shiv Sena, for five years. Did this government treat non-Hindus as second-class citizens? Did they feel more insecure? The answer is no. Yes, unfortunately Gujarat is there. It happened. At this juncture I don't want to say if Godhra had not happened and so on ... but riots are not new to India. Indira Gandhi's death led to riots, the Partition led to widespread riots ...

But what about the attitude of the party to the riots?

Before you see our party attitude, see the participation of the people in the riots ...

Does that participation justify the killings?

This is your problem. I am not justifying anything, not even one killing, I am only analysing ... when riots start, hundreds of Congressmen take part in those ... there is a Hindu-Muslim social problem ... we have a long history. Now, if you look at Mr. Vajpayee ... India-Pakistan relations have a bearing on the Hindu-Muslim question here ... I am not questioning the patriotism of Indian Muslims, but still the relations between India and Pakistan do have a bearing ... Mr. Vajpayee has to be given the credit for peace efforts.

Take Jammu and Kashmir and Article 370 [of the Constitution]. Suppose I was doing something wrong [in demanding its abrogation], and without saying so I am making an effort to change my line on Article 370 ... certainly our position has changed, it has changed on Pakistan as well, and when we talk about all accepting the court verdict on the Ram Mandir, others should welcome this.

I think, over the years the BJP has understood the minorities and they have understood the BJP... slowly the BJP is becoming centrist ... whether even one million Muslims vote for me or not, I have to rule over 140 million Muslims. And you can't rule over them without winning their minds ...

What is your assessment of the Lok Sabha election outcome?

We should cross the 300 mark ... a double century for the BJP, a century for the NDA.

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