January 23, 2025 07:16 IST
Date first published: January 23, 2025 07:16 IST
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If there’s one thing politicians know well in the game of electoral rhetoric, it’s that it’s not party manifestos or flashy promises that are most likely to stick in the end. . Words can be a weapon to distract the masses, and with enough creativity, the right amount of suggestions can strike a chord with the right demographic at the right time. Take, for example, the allegations made by Delhi BJP leader Virendra Sachdeva against the Delhi Chief Minister on Tuesday. He is a “Chunavi Hindu”, a person who is said to discover his spiritual roots only during the election period.
Sachdeva is the only one in a long list of politicians who understand that political debate in India is not just about policy. It’s also, if not more, about performance, the kind of thing that can captivate a nation, from the ever-present election podium to the only parliament in session. Of course, he needs to look no further than the party leader, the prime minister. His verbal dexterity and political acumen have combined to expand India’s political vocabulary over the past decade. Coined terms such as the shadowy cabal of elitist intellectuals such as ‘Andranjeevi’ (professional protesters) and the ‘Khan Market Gang’, a so-called political deep state, have been coined as saying that better coffee alone is a political It has stimulated exchanges. Congress’ Rahul Gandhi, on the other hand, has been valiantly trying to counter it. His ‘Mohabbat Ki Dukhan’ is a good example. But it is a battle of inequality. With its will to introduce new political narratives and destroy old ones, the BJP is clearly the most prolific party when it comes to coining words and phrases.
In the 1990s, LK Advani had accused the Congress of being “pseudo-secular”, a euphemism for appeasement politics. In the decade since 2014, the term has expanded to include liberals and left-wing ideologues, and morphed into a “pseudo-disease” to demonstrate the distance between “bhakts” and “anti-nationals.” Ta. It doesn’t matter whether these labels are accurate or not. The important thing is to hit the target and not miss.
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