How Modi & Nitish Have Aided ‘Brand’ Rahul in Its Rise

Modi’s constant attacks on the Congress might actually be increasing the brand recall for Rahul and the party.

In recent times, two leaders have really helped Rahul Gandhi. One is Nitish Kumar, the other is Narendra Modi. While Nitish only gave him a ‘one-time help’, Modiji has been helping him almost daily. Rahul’s stature is rising. Not too long ago people used to say that Rahul is unable to “take off”, and wondered who would compete with Modi in 2019.

The response to that very often was Nitish Kumar. Even though the largest party is the Congress, and its leader Rahul Gandhi, whenever he was mentioned it was with hesitation.

Among all others Nitish looked like the strongest contender for 2019. But the moment he broke away from the Lalu-Congress alliance and joined the NDA he took himself out of the contest and the haze surrounding Rahul’s name started to clear.

People looking for alternatives started paying attention to Rahul Gandhi, and they started spotting a plan in his work and statements.

As soon as his becoming party president was decided, things started becoming even clearer. Improvement in the party’s situation in Gujarat and success in Rajasthan by-elections added to the points for Rahul and the Congress.

Obviously, the BJP is worried that their graph might be dipping while it is rising for the Congress, and they are trying to arrest the trend. That is why people who are familiar with Modi’s political-electoral-branding-marketing mission have suddenly started to wonder if his constant attacks on the Congress in pursuit of his ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ aim might actually be increasing the brand recall for Rahul and the Congress.

There is no question about Modi being a mega brand by himself. Whether it is consumer brands or political, in fierce marketing wars, the biggest brands never mention the name of smaller competitors.

In this age of instant communication and media deliberations, when anything Modi says at any given point in time reaches millions of people immediately, anything his opponents say also reaches a lot of people.

The way Modi’s statements are articulated, everything he says sounds measured, like a well thought-out intentional decision.

So when the BJP constantly mentions the party that it wants to portray as broken and obsolete, it might actually be making it into a strong and able opponent.

You must have noticed this – up until recently, often when people spoke about Rahul they would accidently say Rajiv Gandhi’s name; the brand recall was weak; but now that is changing.

Rahul and the Congress were on the margins, tucked away somewhere in an inside page single column. But with all the BJP attacks on them recently, their brand recall value has gone up. When a rival brand directly attacks another, it can often end up being beneficial for the smaller brand.

Earlier the Congress was starved for media attention, but now with Modi regularly criticising them, the media is forced to seek out the Congress for their side of the story.

According to India Today’s recent survey, Modi’s popularity has dropped 10 points and is now at 52 percent, meanwhile Rahul’s popularity has grown by 10 points to 22 percent. Despite all the mudslinging last year, the Congress is still at the centre of the discourse.

The BJP will obviously disagree, but their attacks on the Congress are both indecent and exaggerated, and just because they are the party in power voters are not going to blindly believe them. Most groups in power suffer from the delusion that everything they say is the absolute truth.

Essentially, Modi’s strategy is to constantly fan the flames of hatred against the Congress, especially among BJP voters. This is why in every election all BJP leaders have kept their focus on the Congress. Earlier, they would mention other opposing parties and leaders but now that has lessened.

Obviously, the BJP knows that if voters are unhappy with them they will turn to the Congress because it is the principal Opposition party. Hence, do not let the Congress stand or stabilise itself.

This is an active strategy on many levels. Court cases against party leaders, getting party leaders and workers to break away and join the BJP – all of these are part of this general strategy. That the Congress has been a bit lax with countering and dealing with these attacks is a whole different matter.

The sharpness and speed of the prime minister’s attacks on the Congress in both Houses of Parliament on 7 February was not routine. It was a thought-out plan, a speech designed to provide salacious talking points to his party members.

Election planning for the ‘Modi Mission’ has begun much earlier than expected; this was just a way to boost it. Now the challenge for the Congress is to recognise the strategic attacks of the BJP and counter them effectively.

After four full years of rule, when elections are around, Modi wants people to still see the Opposition as the establishment and look at him as the anti-establishment hero.

This optimism is risky. He is trying to cover up the reality of the BJP’s earlier promises by spinning new dreams.

Till that point it is still okay. But the BJP’s tone has started to get abrasive, and this is increasing Rahul’s stature.

This can become the BJP’s big mistake. If the BJP is unable to achieve the aim it has for the next Lok Sabha election, this abrasiveness will have contributed to it.