More Than Just a Campaigner: The Growing Influence of Himanta Biswa Sarma – News18

India concluded its monumental 2024 general election, a seven-phase mega-democratic event spanning over six weeks. Approximately 963 million registered voters across the nation cast their ballots, deciding the fate of 543 parliamentary candidates. The election primarily witnessed a fierce contest between the ruling BJP, with Narendra Modi seeking a third consecutive term as Prime Minister, and the Opposition INDI alliance, spearheaded by the Congress party.

Both sides engaged in rigorous campaigning, utilising social media to propagate their ideologies and mobilise public opinion, while also conducting extensive offline campaigns through rallies, public meetings, and roadshows.

Should exit polls prove accurate, the BJP’s likely victory would defy predictions of volatility, marking a historic third term for Modi.

TMC’s Advertent Pre-Election Misgivings

The people of Bengal need political stability and a violence-free environment. The only solution to bring peace in Bengal is the routing of the TMC permanently. Just 48 hours before the sixth phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, in Nandigram, in the Purba Medinipur district, a woman worker of the BJP was allegedly killed by the TMC workers and seven other people were brutally injured. This incident, occurring even as the nation voted, highlights the urgent need for change.

Let us not forget the shocking incident of Sandeshkhali, where several women from the tribal and Dalit communities complained about the physical, social and economic atrocities which involved land grab and sexual assault perpetrated on them by TMC strongman, Sheikh Shahjahan and his henchmen over several years. The matter is being investigated by the CBI. Shahjahan is behind bars on the charges of attacking a team of the ED who was raiding his residence.

Following a policy of extreme appeasement to the minority, Mamata Banerjee has taken innumerable policy measures harming the interests of the Hindus. The latest Calcutta High Court order, invalidating the post-2010 list of OBC categories, which involved the unconstitutional inclusion of Muslims into the OBC list is another blow to her disposition.

In various instances, Mamata Banerjee has taken naked anti-Hindu positions, whereby she has not only made outrageous comments on the honourable monks of the Ramakrishna Mission but also her statement on how Durga Puja should be celebrated as a ‘festival’ (Durgotsav) rather than a religious celebration. Himanta Biswa Sarma has candidly criticised Mamata Banerjee on her attempt to reduce the Shakti Puja to a mere carnival, in his campaigns in West Bengal. Mamata Banerjee must reckon with the historical fact that the freedom fighters used the community Durga pujas during the 1910s and 1940s to promote the Swadeshi movement.

Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was associated with Simla Byayam Samity, Baghbazar Sarbojanin puja and several others. He also presided over the puja committees of Kumartuli Sarbojanin Durgotsav, Adi Lake Pally and 47 Pally. He also practised stick fights on Beerashtami. Till 1919, he participated in the community pujas. These experiences might have motivated his later engagements against the British colonialists. Regarding TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sushmita Dev’s comment on the issue — that the people associated with puja mandaps in upper Assam do not even know how to write Bengali — this statement is embedded in anti-Assamese sentiments despite her representing Assam’s Silchar LS constituency.

Durga Puja, contrary to common belief, is not a cultural transplant to Assam by the Bengali community. The ASI site of Ambari in Guwahati shows evidence of Durga statue ateliers dating back to the 11th century AD. Assam’s rich cultural heritage of temple architecture and sculptures can be traced back to the Gupta period, as seen in the Da-Parvatiya and Surya Pahar complex of Goalpara. Himanta Biswa Sarma’s political campaigns in West Bengal unravel the shameful power game of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC dispensation and shake its anti-Hindu and hooliganistic disposition.

How Sarma Re-Calibrates His Campaigns

Himanta Biswa Sarma is more than just a star campaigner for the BJP; he is an exceptional leader and public speaker. He possesses an uncanny knack for engaging audiences during meetings and rallies. His approach to interaction is innovative and dialogue-driven, offering a fresh paradigm through the application of Motivating Language Theory (MLT). His diverse use of motivating language correlates strongly with both his effectiveness as a leader and the active participation he elicits from stakeholders. This blend of direct guidance and motivational rhetoric shapes how his political base perceives his leadership.

Sarma’s model of governance and public service delivery, following that of Prime Minister Modi’s approach, prioritises a citizen-centric focus, aiming to reach a broad social base across Assam and the nation, spurring community action. The inclusion of individual success stories by the CM on his official ‘X’ handle as a motivator is another attribute in the motivational dimension. He acknowledges efforts made in the remotest corner of Assam, across communities and genders, by referring to individual efforts and excellence in diverse fields. This undeniably helps the state and the nation in turn to reach a level of collective excellence.

Political Engagement on Social Media

More than traditional media, social media can amplify and mobilise political opinions, reaching even the remotest geographical areas. Its unique value lies in allowing for both mass messaging and micro-targeting. Bolstered by grassroots campaigning, Himanta Biswa Sarma is effectively leveraging this power, as it is immensely powerful in moulding public opinion both within India and beyond, thus facilitating civic engagement for a more participatory democracy. However, social media is also misused for propaganda and hate speech, providing fodder for political polarisation, particularly in heterogeneous societies like India. Unfortunately, the democratisation of social media as a political communication platform in India has not been matched by its professionalisation as a reliable information-sharing one.

Unimpeded by the gatekeeping functions of traditional media, which strive for content accuracy and responsible reporting ethics, social media can often be inaccurate and divisive. This rapidly changing media environment profoundly impacts Indian elections. Both the BJP and INDI alliance’s social media campaigns risk deepening societal fault lines, though in distinct ways. While the INDI alliance often accuses the ruling BJP of communal polarisation, the facts rest on the plank that the INC-led INDI alliance is plunging deeper into a polarising tactic of fear, nihilism and the propagandistic use of the persecution psychosis among the Muslims, and of late among the so-called Hindu lower castes in India.

NaMo App: A Participatory Revolution

Political parties use social media to engage directly and continuously with voters. The BJP has gravitated towards an app-based political program, primarily the Narendra Modi (NaMo) app and WhatsApp. The NaMo app exemplifies Modi’s governing style of directly calling on citizens to participate in government policies and volunteer for his programs. ‘Mann Ki Baat’ (PM Modi’s monthly radio talk), reflects the collective conscience of the nation, wherein he confidently exudes the importance of perseverance and collective action. The more citizens participate, the more “citizenship points” they accrue, creating personal investment in both the PM and the BJP.

‘Mann Ki Baat’ embodies a paradigm of power and leadership rooted in dialogue. Prime Minister Modi’s interactive style is arguably more effective than other political leadership models, including populist ones, for navigating governance in this age of hyper-mediatisation. Over successive episodes, ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has become a striking example of media convergence. All India Radio serves as its primary broadcasting channel, complemented by TV and digital platforms. The program has captured the imagination of countless people by fostering a sense of serious, discursive engagement. Through it, Modi aims to motivate disciplined action, on both individual and societal levels, towards a wide array of objectives. These range from the everyday routines of ordinary citizens to good governance practices, sustainable development, and gender parity – all while acknowledging the complexities of India’s socio-political landscape.

It delivers a sharp critique of the BJP government’s targets, including the leader himself. The program also provides a running report card on government performance, frequently updating citizens on the progress of existing schemes, service delivery, and the challenges faced by the administration in implementing them.

Himanta Biswa Sarma’s electoral engagements with the public stand out for their fresh approach, interweaving political discourse and public speeches with lighter moments of dance, song, and electoral slogans (Aakou ebar Modi sarkar in Assamese). This creates a deeper connection with his political base. Social capital is the latest conceptual attempt to account for democracy’s persistence and, when it actualises, it turns into a prudential success. It also encompasses an essential element of democracy’s performance, i.e. leadership capital. Leadership capital consists of the competence, integrity, and capacities for performance that leaders may have or bring to bear on society’s problems. However, it is grounded and unfolds in a society’s culture and psychology. And here, the BJP is unsurpassable, considering the successful political leaders it has given to India, where PM Modi tops the list, followed by others along with the incumbent Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.