Stalin, Anbumani adopt US-style campaigns

CHENNAI: PMK's chief ministerial candidate Anbumani Ramadoss started it by borrowing the Barack Obama ‘Hope’ poster that defined his 2008 Presidential election. The Anbumani posters, in shades of green and white against a yellow backdrop, used the slogans `change' and `progress'.
The similarity to the iconic Obama posters was unmistakable. The poster went viral on social media and attracted enough attention to overshadow the jokes, memes and vicious takedowns initiated by trolls.
DMK's M K Stalin went a step further. He decided to borrow a key ingredient of US elections -mingling with commoners. He visits coffee shops and speaks to voters, sips tea in roadside stalls, listens to people's woes in bazaars with a Clintonesque “I can feel your pain” look, and takes selfies with students.
Leaders in Tamil Nadu have typically been larger-than-life figures. With ineffable charm and mystique, they commanded a following that often turned into hysterical adulation.
The leaders kept their distance from the masses. But as the political old guard fades away -Karunanidhi is 90 years old -the younger ones feel a need to step out and be known. In the case of Stalin and Anbumani, the need is that much more acute since the shadows of their political fathers loom large.
Despite the presence of veterans Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa, the 2016 assembly polls in the state promise to provide space for these aspirants. In the US election cycle, candidates, often with only a limited local standing but with promise, start by introducing themselves, articulate their positions and go through a series of campaign events, speeches and televised debates.
Over a year or so, with round-the-clock polling and focus group-driven changes in campaign themes, the candidate who looks most presidential ­ or governor material, as the case may be ­ builds an edge.
For the poll managers of Stalin and Anbumani, a US-style campaign seems to be a no-brainer. They are presenting their candidates as capable but friendly-neighbourhood leaders as opposed to distant demi-gods that TN lead ers have typically been.
Tamil Nadu's politicos are past masters in image building and using new forms of communication -they pioneered the use of films -for propaganda. The image of MGR as a wealthy film star who was nevertheless caring and generous was assiduously built and used by the DMK propaganda machine in the 1960s to much success.
Faced with an election next year, the politicos are leveraging social media, mobile apps and vans with LED screens for image-building. Political psychologist and analyst Ashis Nandy says the gameplan is to exploit the vast potential of social media.
“India is a media sensitive country . What Stalin is doing is nothing unusual. Look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was inaccessible to his own partymen. Social media made him.”
Stalin and Anbumani have been positioned as suave leaders in tune with young voters and their aspirations. In party hoardings, Anbumani is often dressed in a two-piece suit with a tie. Stalin has given up his white veshti, starched white shirt and white footwear for dark pants, colourful shirts and sports shoes. A final touch to the makeover is his new brisk and energetic gait, intended to impress.
In a party that is officially rationalist, even atheist, Stalin has been seen visiting temples. The state boasts of thousands of temples, big and small and old and new, and the daily routine of many Tamils includes temple visits. An everyman leader in TN would visit temples, and so does Stalin.
While image may give a start, the real test would come when the leaders would be expected to deal with substantive issues. Anbumani has sought to articulate a set of policies such as promising prohibition in his public meetings.
While the PMK is solidly behind Anbumani in his mission, Stalin has chosen to project his father and DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi as his party's CM candidate. To be a leader of his own standing, he may well have to give voice to the aspirations of the voters of a highly urbanized state looking for rapid development. So far, he has been content attacking the AIADMK government and asking voters to redeem the state.
Stalin and Anbumani may not become chief ministers in 2016 ­ one is officially not in the race and the other's party is a relatively small player. But their campaigns would have had an impact if, as a result, the state's governance becomes more transparent and accessible to the common man.