BJP markets roadshows to boost Modi brand ahead of 2024

Jaipur: In electoral parlance, a roadshow is ideally a sales pitch to potential voters. And political parties are increasingly resorting to grandiose roadshows to drum up interest in their party.

Roadshow is one of the newest tools to seek votes and test the popularity of their leaders. Although parties and individual candidates are constantly promoting their parties and their candidates on social media, the offline connection with a cheering crowd perhaps gives leaders an unusual adrenalin rush, needed just before the elections.

As Rajasthan gets ready to vote on November 25, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah are holding mega-roadshows to enthuse workers and to reach out to voters in a last-minute effort.

Modi’s mega roadshow in the gated Walled City of Jaipur got a huge response with a saffron surge and a swooning crowd, rooting for him as he passed through areas like Bapu Bazar, Nehru Bazar, Tripoli, Johari Bazaar which come under the constituencies of Hawa Mahal, Kishanpol before culminating in Sanganeri Gate. This is the first time a Prime Minister has conducted a roadshow in Jaipur to woo voters.

Sources say the decision to hold Modi’s mega show, which took around one and half hours to pass through, was taken a few days ago to boost the electoral prospects of BJP in Jaipur’s 10 Assembly seats.

As there were chants applauding Lord Ram and Modi, the Prime Minister passed through accepting and acknowledging the love and respect of the people. At a similar roadshow held in Bikaner two days back, a rapturous crowd waved and cheered for Modi.

Political analyst Narayan Bareth told Deccan Herald: “Road shows are a new political tool and are commercialising the democratic process. The roadshow yesterday was conducted by the Prime Minister but he is the Prime Minister of a country and not just of one region. Bringing roadshows to the level of PM is not a healthy political trend. BJP is keen to project the face of the PM as their only guarantee. Yesterday the roadshow only had Modi on the vehicle waving to the crowd, accompanied by BJP state president C P Joshi. No other big regional leader was allowed on the vehicle, indicating that BJP top leaders like the presidential form of governance where regional leaders are not allowed to grow. Modi’s roadshows earlier in Karnataka, however, were not fruitful. He even held a roadshow in Kochi in April in the run-up to the 2024 general elections. Roadshows are very different from the padayatra, which Mahatma Gandhi undertook but then there was hardly any resource mobilisation. Padayatras also had a personal touch, which is lacking in roadshows. The leaders just wave from a distance and there is no personal interaction with the voters. It is like showcasing a brand, in this case, the Modi brand. Roadshows are packages which need huge finances.”

Arvind Kejriwal of Aam Aadmi Party also regularly holds roadshows, the recent one in Neem-Ka-Thana in Rajasthan.

In the corporate world, roadshows are important because it is a kind of superior targeting, pinning down your target group and attuning your approach to the knowledge of this group. Roadshows are a kind of branding your product in a unique way, a huge promotional exercise just to keep your brand in the top of minds of customers.

“In the corporate world, roadshows are often confined to halls and not always on the roads. Political roadshows are different, they are effective in creating a lasting impression on your voters and often build a valuable relationship with the voters. Modi’s roadshow yesterday is definitely going to have an impact on the outcome of polls, says a senior Public Relations professional of Jaipur, who did not wish to be named.

Earlier padayatras initiated by Gandhi during the freedom struggle, were effective campaign tools as they helped to establish personal touch with people, provided better outreach, mobilised supporters, and were cost-effective.

One of the most talked about padayatra in recent times is that of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is supposed to have had an impact on Karnataka’s poll outcome where he covered 511 km in 21 days and influenced at least 15 out of the 20 constituencies, which it passed through.