By SK Nag
Recent Bengal poll result has manifested the meaning of proper communication. Whose narratives are well articulated and brought in a far-reaching yield and received a definite thumbs up is clear now. When the communication of a new aspirant has failed to address the valid concern of the Bengali electorate due to not using the effective statement close to their hearts, the incumbent’s failed speech might fetch a more effective result. So effective political communication is critical while fighting elections. But current leadership, irrespective of their stature, lacks political communication skills due to poor indulgence in public speaking to develop the talent required shortly. The recent poll campaign has shown us in many incidents even national leaders lacking in such communications.
Geographically the states of India are different from each other. Therefore it has many varieties of choices. Northern states’ likings may not be satisfying the average likes of southern states, and this diversity of preferences are omnipresent across the country. Education, professional skill, geographical importance, food habits, and many other parameters decide these diversities. So it is of utmost importance that the present leaders understand the geographical priorities of choices before articulating their political narrative. The recent failure of BJP across many seats of West Bengal indicates how they have failed to align their speech according to local understanding and liking.
The political statement always has a more profound impact on society. BJP could not reach the voters effectively to leverage the anti-incumbency benefit. Their speech did not carry conviction to influence them before deciding their next government. The utterance of an irrelevant statement has damaged their political desire. A detrimental comment once made, very difficult to remove from the public mind. Due to its persisting effect on the rational sense, the articulation of narratives is crucial.
India is a country of elections; no other country in the world has so many polls. We have Parliament elections for central Govt, Legislative elections for state Govt, Municipality & Panchayat elections. Throughout the year, parties are busy making election strategies keeping aside the responsibility of governance. Although the Election directly connects with the country’s economy, it is always good to have an elected body of operation. Congress party majorly ruled this country for a long time, leaving no chance for the opposition to grow big and stand against them for decades. Indian republic, because of their stereotype and unchanged governance pattern, has rejected them massively. Aspiration to the management of change BJP came in power and subsequently got into a winning spree one by one state assembly across the nation barring a few along with central govt. But their election thrill is not getting attenuated to concentrate on governance. Therefore they have now started losing slowly.
Therefore, political speech must have some zonal importance and relevance; otherwise, the days are not far when most existing leaders will see declining popularity.
(Author is Industrial Engineer, Fellow Valuer, Chartered Engineer, BEE approved Energy Expert and Industry Mentor. The views expressed are personal opinion of the author. He can be reached at [email protected])