Punjabi antenna
Randeep Wadehra 

Needed better news 
One yearns for a news culture that will encourage candidates from various political parties to answer voters’ questions

AS one watched the TV coverage of Punjab elections, one wondered whether news television could perform better. It kept its cameras and microphones fully primed, as decibel levels soared upwards during the election campaigns that plumbed to new depths, with rivals conjuring up metaphors and similes featuring canine faces and simian posteriors. With the elections coming to an end, the decibels plummeted to bearable levels. The political rhetoric simmered down, even though tension has remained tactile. It is because the entire election process has not yet been completed, thanks to the rather long period of wait for the results.

Interestingly, even as the votes were being cast in the late afternoon, various Punjabi news channels went into a peremptorily analytical mode. Who will win, and by what margin? What does the unusually high voter turnout signify? Various experts had ready answers. On PTC News, they proclaimed ideology’s demise as a vote-catching device. Only the track record and image of individual candidates matter for the voter, they declared. They were perceptive enough to tell us that those above 50 years would vote on pre-decided party lines while “45 years and below” will vote for candidates and parties having credible developmental agendas. What about the significant chunk of voters in the 45-50 age group? I am ‘whingeing’, of course.

Taking into account the huge voter turnout, most of the panelists on TV feel that Manpreet Badal’s PPP will cut into SAD-Akali votes Photo: AFP

Zee Punjabi’s panelists had a different take altogether. One of them observed that if individual candidates were such “sohnay atey changay” then the credit should go to the parties which selected them. Although the effect of delimitation on the fortunes of some of the established politicos was factored in, the general view was that people would vote on ideological lines. Now, if ideology is such a strong factor then both the SAD-BJP and the Congress stand to lose because they have hardly anything distinct to offer on this score. The former have more or less veered away from their panthic-dharmic agendas and the latter is swinging between socialism and free-market economy; and both cynically exploit various caste and communal equations in the state.

The PPP campaign, on the other hand, has focussed on development and governance, with emphasis on transparency and probity; this should enthuse, at least, the young voter. So, ideally, PPP should have an advantage. But, would it? Taking into account the huge voter turnout, one of the panelists predicted that there would be surprises in election results. What would these be? Would there be a regime change; or, perhaps, even a rank outsider may become the next Chief Minister?
Although some are predicting retention of power by the Akali-BJP combine, the following equation appears more likely: 

Anti-incumbency + Manpreet Factor = Heavy Voter Turnout = Advantage Congress. 

The quality of debates invariably improved whenever politicians were absent, or in a minority.

Another event that caught media attention was the exercise of the ‘Right to Reject’ by a section of the voters. Media pundits were quite excited. 

However, certain questions need to be answered first. What purpose does this right serve? Can it compel the authorities to order a re-poll, replacing the rejected candidates with new ones? Obviously, this is not possible unless a majority of voters in a constituency reject the existing candidates. Nevertheless, this can be a promising start. 

One yearns for a news TV culture that encourages prospective candidates from various political parties to answer voters’ questions, live on television. The questions can be on their track records, as well as future plans vis-à-vis development and governance. Or, hold a public debate among various candidates on major issues confronting the people of Punjab. This should help energise the state’s political culture and set a healthy precedent for other states to follow. Wouldn’t this make for great news TV?