New Delhi: There's nothing like a feel good advertisement when you are down in the dumps. And no one needs it more right now than UPA-II. Faced with uncertainty, embarrassment and an election in the next one year, the government plans to bombard us with not-so-subtle reminders of what they did get right in the last nine years.
This is the Congress's Rs 180 crore ad blitz 'Bharat Nirman', written by Javed Akthar and filmed by Pradeep Sarkar. No ominous comparison to the BJP's 'India Shining' campaign please, insists the party.
Historically, smart tag lines have worked well for political parties - Jai Jawan Jai Kisan (Congress, 1965), Garibi Hatao (Congress, 1971), Abki Bari Atal Bihari (BJP, 1996). But there have been notable exceptions - the most disastrous of them all being the NDA's 'India Shining' campaign 10 years ago. Flashy and lopsided, it was dubbed as the worst poll strategy in the country's history, something that ultimately cost the BJP, the 2004 elections, and Rs 100 crore.
Then there was the Samajwadi Party's advertisement where Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan mouthed the ironical words, "UP mei dum hai kyunki jurm yahan kum hai". Despite what Amitabh Bachchan said, a state hit by lawlessness and crime voted out the Samajwadi Party in 2007....
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09:20 PM, May 14, 2013
Ahmedabad: Amid talk about Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's projection as BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Acharya Dharmendra on Sunday said he wanted "a true patriot" to occupy the country's top post after the next elections. "I want to see a true patriot becomes next Prime Minister ...I don't think Modi is a traitor...However, we have to see what happens ahead (aage aage dekhiye hota hai kya),"...
05:20 PM, Apr 28, 2013
New Delhi: Sources in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday indicated that top party leaders had spoken to Nitish Kumar and Sharad Yadav of ally Janata Dal (United) amidst reports that it will make a strong demand for the early projection of the next Prime Ministerial candidate of the National Democratic Alliance. The JD(U)'s antipathy to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is well-known and reports of him being projected...
09:07 PM, Apr 12, 2013
New Delhi: The Congress and the BJP are battling over Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's address to India Inc. While the Congress said that he has given people hope, the BJP said that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi offers much more to the people of India. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Saredesai, Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar said that Rahul has got the implicit solution. "Rahul has understood the essential...
07:56 AM, Apr 05, 2013
New Delhi: Congress on Thursday brushed aside comparison of Rahul Gandhi with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying only those interested in propping up the BJP leader indulged in such acts. On Gandhi's speech at the CII where he spoke about the need to bring the poor and the marginalised into the political processes, Congress spokesman PC Chacko said people heard what they have been trying to listen to for...
10:27 PM, Apr 04, 2013
New Delhi: It was a day rarely seen in Indian politics when top leaders of the country's main parties took to the stage in a bid to woo corporate India. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi pitched hard to India Inc at Confederation of Indian Industries in the national capital and unveiled his vision of inclusive development, seeking partnership with the corporate sector but made it abundantly clear that he was...
09:56 PM, Apr 04, 2013
BJP's 'Team 2014' has brought in Narendra Modi, Varun Gandhi and Amit Shah. But Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Arjun Munda are some of the prominent names left out of the party's parliamentary board. With general elections just about a year away, is Rajnath Singh steering the party on to the right path? Senior journalist Ashok Malik joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue. ...
05:26 PM, Apr 01, 2013
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday parried questions on whether he wanted to become the Prime Minister, saying he had never even dreamt of becoming the Chief Minister. "I have never dreamt of becoming someone in life. I have always tried to do something. Mostly people dream of becoming someone and die. I have never followed this. ...
07:55 AM, Mar 17, 2013
Training guns at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, RJD President Lalu Prasad on Saturday said he seems to be prime ministerial candidate of foreigners due to which America, UK and other Western nations were softening their approach towards him in recent days. "Narendra Modi seems a PM candidate of foreigners due to which America, UK and other Western countries are softening their approach towards him in recent days," Prasad said....
10:50 PM, Mar 09, 2013
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh went on the offensive on Wednesday as he presented his reply to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President for his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. Singh, known for his quiet demeanour, unleashed scathing attacks on the BJP on all fronts. He did not spare Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi either, remarking, "jo garajte...
06:50 PM, Mar 06, 2013
Is the Budget 2013-14 drafted, keeping the 2014 general elections in mind? IBN7's Managing Editor Ashutosh shared his perspective in an interaction with IBNLive readers. ...
06:17 PM, Mar 01, 2013
Two weeks before Budget Session of Parliament, the Samajwadi Party gave the strongest indication so far that it was itching for General Elections this year. Speaking at a party function in Lucknow, party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "Congress is the master of double speak and is misleading people. After not governing for four years, Congress will use the forthcoming Budget Session to implement populist measures. Still smarting from the...
09:27 PM, Feb 04, 2013
Congress will hold its first crucial meeting on February 8 to explore pre-poll political alliances and chalk out strategy for the next general elections in 2014. This will be the first meeting of the sub-group on pre-poll alliances headed AK Antony, which was constituted days after party's Samvad Baithak in Surjakund on November 9. The sub-group is part of the Congress Coordination Committee headed by Rahul Gandhi for 2014 Lok...
10:16 PM, Feb 02, 2013
In yet another indication that he is being groomed for a larger role, Gujarat Chief Minster Narendra Modi now has the open backing of senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha. Sinha has pitched hard for Modi as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. ...
04:44 PM, Jan 28, 2013
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who met Rajnath Singh in Delhi on Sunday, discussed 2014 Lok Sabha elections "in detail" with the newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party President. Modi was visiting the national capital to congratulate Rajnath for taking over as the BJP chief. ...
02:42 PM, Jan 27, 2013
At the final day of the Congress' Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, the party came out with a 56-page draft declaration in which it stated that the Congress will boldly and fearlessly take on political parties which are elitist, parochial, sectarian or exclusionary. The declaration said that the party will go into elections on the basis of nationalism, social justice, economic growth for all - especially the aam aadmi and the...
11:27 AM, Jan 20, 2013
The Congress has played its 'brahmastra'. Its 'yuvraj', for long a PM-in-waiting, has officially become the second in command of the grand old party as it gears up for 2014 polls. However, high hopes have regularly turned to disappointment when it comes to Rahul Gandhi. At 42, he's two years older than his father Rajiv when he became Prime Minister and there are fears that the youth icon's charisma is...
07:25 AM, Jan 20, 2013
The clamour within the Congress to name Rahul Gandhi as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate refuses to die down. On Saturday, on Day Two of the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur, party leader Sanjay Nirupam put it straight. He said clearly, "Rahul Gandhi is our prime ministerial candidate for 2014." ...
11:03 AM, Jan 19, 2013
Even as senior Congress leaders on Friday sought to dismiss rumours about the possibility of Rahul Gandhi being made the party's Prime Ministerial candidate, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor sparked fresh debate on Saturday with a statement. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Tharoor said, "We will be in very capable hands if Rahul Gandhi takes over." ...
10:00 AM, Jan 19, 2013
On Day One of the Congress's Chintan Shivir in Jaipur on Friday, Rahul Gandhi occupied the centrestage as a majority of the Congressmen said he should be named as the Prime Ministerial candidate. Seniors within the party, however, were quick to play it down. ...
07:28 AM, Jan 19, 2013
