Congress to fight BJP with media offensive

The party will be holding press conferences across the country to highlight the failures of the BJP-led govt

Despite setbacks in the recently concluded Assembly elections to four states, the Congress has decided to go all out against the Modi government’s two years in office. It has labelled its media campaign, “Do saal Desh ka bura haal” ( Two years [of Bharatiya Janata Party], the country is in bad shape) and will hold press conferences across the country to highlight the failures of the BJP-led government.

The Congress has decided to field its big guns, including former finance minister P Chidambaram, to expose the alleged “hollow claims” of the government on economic growth.

Congress Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, and senior spokesperson Kapil Sibal will kick off the programme from the capital on May 26. On the same day, senior Congress leaders will address press conferences in state capitals, including Jairam Ramesh in Bengaluru, Manish Tewari in Ahmedabad, Shakeel Ahmed in Lucknow, Gaurav Gogoi in Kolkata and Sachin Pilot in Mumbai.

The Congress will also release a booklet enumerating the shortcomings of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA)’s two years in office on May 28. The media offensive is intended to counter the government’s blitzkrieg, with 33 ministers fanning across 200 cities to publicise the achievements of the Modi government.

The party is aware that one of its major failings has been its inability to counter the “propaganda” machine of the BJP and, therefore, it has decided to not lose the opportunity to puncture the government's claims. The Congress is also smarting from the BJP's claim that within two years it has managed a “Congress-mukt Bharat”.

Incidentally, both experienced leaders and young faces of the Congress have been chosen to take the fight to the BJP. Congress President Sonia Gandhi had last week attempted to bolster morale by stating that “failure is never permanent.”