The single biggest scam in independent India was set in motion five years ago, when a mass anti-corruption movement gave birth to a dangerous political outfit. What seemed to have emerged as an outfit with a difference gradually put on display its true colors. AAP was indeed an outfit with a difference, considering its practices turned out to be more degraded than its debased peers. The ‘most honest’ party today is the embodiment of hypocrisy, corruption, crudity, megalomania, fraudulence, cronyism, abuse, sycophancy, appeasement, sanctimony, and anti-nationalism.
Several rants about the Aam Aadmi Party, about how they conned an entire city, about how they backstabbed a whole nation, have been published. This article isn’t about corruption scandals emerging every now and then, or wife-beating ministers. It isn’t about fake degrees or dubious funding. The party’s real credentials are well established now, and ranting on about how Kejriwal is attempting to take the country for a ride is unnecessary. What is interesting is the entire ecosystem created to peddle lies and sustain this tomfoolery.
The machinery set in place initially, when the party was still at a nascent stage, was mostly for propaganda purposes. Several fairly influential men and women belonging to the mainstream media fraternity were given important positions in the party. This helped them to maintain a good relationship and use the media effectively to create a positive image. Backing up these opportunistic journalists in several war rooms was the social media brigade, members of which are now referred to as AAPtards. These halfwits, each of whom operated many accounts across different platforms, presented similar half-baked arguments on every issue with the objective of turning the tide.
In all probability, Kejriwal had no clue as to what he was getting into. Crooks from all walks of life joined the newly formed political party in hordes. They used it as a platform to launch their own political careers, despite being the very people this party was founded to fight. More than a year after their landslide victory in Delhi, the results were for all to see. The party is in the news every day, but only for the wrong reasons. Such an appalling situation was too much for the friendly media or the brainless internet army to handle.
The party has backed almost every leader charged with corruption to the hilt. It has backed almost every leader charged with domestic and physical abuse, and with fake degrees to the hilt. The party has no choice. They cannot disown these men and women, for their image would take more of a beating if they did. Their ultimate selling point has always been anti-corruption, and any action against their erring members would be an indication that they have failed miserably. It would be an admission of guilt, an acceptance of the fact that they were unable to achieve the standards they themselves set. The bubble would burst once and for all.
This is the reason a larger ecosystem was created. Unlike its predecessor though, it is more on the defensive than on the offensive. It has to be, considering the ground realities. Exorbitant amounts are spent every month on a large scale advertising campaigning. Every media house receives business worth crores from the AAP government. Taxpayers’ money is used on minute long television ads and full-page ads in the print media. These ads often defend the party’s position on issues and attack their political rivals. The hundreds of crores of expenditure kills two birds with one stone. It spreads the party’s message and neutralizes the media at the same time. Media outlets projecting the party in a bad light often have their lucrative contracts scrapped. To top this, many senior journalists across the spectrum have been given important posts in educational institutions controlled by the AAP government. This appears to be either a reward or a bribe.
But even all of this seems inadequate to arrest the downfall their image is undergoing. Whether it was the ‘office of profit’ MLAs or the compulsory Punjabi or the celebrations for India’s failed bid at the NSG or the Tanker Scam, the party was ripped apart on social media as well as the mainstream media recently. The mainstream media seems to have called the party’s bluff, realizing that it needs them more than they need it. However hard they have tried to build a positive image, the stark ground realities have caught up with them. Their five hundred and twenty six crore budget for publicity and their journalist appeasement drive last year seems to have flopped. Finally, they have sought professional help.
Earlier this week, the AAP government hired a private Public Relations( PR ) firm to manage their image. The firm is called Perfect Relations, founded by senior media consultant Dilip Cherian.
The PR Agency costs will be met from the AAP government’s budget for the Information and Broadcasting Department for this year, pegged at a whopping 200 crore rupees.
After AAP completed one year in government, people began to question the validity of their pre-election promises. The party promised big, but fulfilled almost nothing. Diverting attention from this will be yet another challenge for the new PR firm, apart from defending oneself, playing victim and dissing Prime Minister Modi.
It is unlikely that a PR firm will end the party’s woes. As they say, “One can sell a horse as a horse, but it is impossible to sell a donkey as a racehorse.” It is no doubt a daunting challenge for the PR Agency, and we wish them the very best for the experiments they will conduct with taxpayers’ money.
