As the tempo for parliamentary elections starts to build up, the Narendra Modi government has taken to a novel publicity tool of setting up mini-tableaux, with a selfie-point sporting a cut-out of the Prime Minister, outside offices of ministries in the heart of the national capital, with the dual purpose of highlighting its achievements and reinforcing the PM’s dynamic persona.
The 10-feet by 5-feet models or motionless figures in 3D represent success stories from welfare schemes of the Modi government and have been strategically placed at high footfall areas outside ministry buildings in the Rafi Marg area.
One such tableau highlights “Urjawan Bharat, Unnat Bharat” (Power rich India, Developed India) and is placed outside the Krishi Bhawan. Its replica has also been placed outside the Shram Shakti Bhawan that houses the power ministry.
Another tableau, highlighting the “CSIR Aroma Mission, purple revolution”, aimed at boosting incomes of farmers, stands at a prime location outside Anusandhan Bhawan, a stone’s throw from the new Parliament building.
Apart from a slogan to communicate the development-led governance in the tableaux, the cut-out of PM Modi works as an attention grabber and draws passersby or selfie-loving youngsters.
Laxmi Nagar resident Sumit, who was on his way to the Prime Minister’s Museum from Krishi Bhawan, stopped by to click a selfie at one of the tableaux. “I am a fan of Modiji. I just can’t let go of an opportunity to take a selfie with his cutout,” said the accountancy student.
Ruchi, an RBI employee who walks past the tableaux on Rafi Marg almost every day, could not help notice them. “Initially, I thought these were linked to some event in the respective ministries. But over the next few days, I started seeing people taking selfies and at that time I realised that these are here to stay for a longer time,” she said.
Interestingly, these tableaux also help the Modi government or the BJP overcome the problem of finding enough authorised spaces for political hoardings in Lutyens’ Delhi. Since these tableaux have come up before the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections, that too on ministry premises, these may not add to BJP’s poll expense.
An AAP MLA in Delhi hit out at the latest political publicity tool of the Modi government as wasteful expenditure. “When our party and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal give ads or do publicity we are targeted by the BJP for wasting public money. Isn’t the Modi government wasting public money through this roadside gimmick?” he asked.
A Delhi BJP spokesman responded by justifying the concept of these tableaux. “These are an attempt to communicate the government’s achievement to the public,” said a BJP leader, appreciating the models for being focused and minimalistic in terms of design.
He said the AAP’s wasteful expenditure on ads has no precedence or defence. “How can the AAP justify Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann’s ads in Delhi newspapers highlighting work done in that state?”
