Modi used English media journalist to project him as a hero: Rajdeep Sardesai - Hindustan Times
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Modi used English media journalist to project him as a hero: Rajdeep Sardesai

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Jan 24, 2015 07:41 PM IST

Contrary to popular belief that the BJP won the latest general election with a thumping majority riding on Narendra Modi's popularity wave, senior TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has said that the UPA would have lost the election even if the BJP had not declared Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

Contrary to popular belief that the BJP won the latest general election with a thumping majority riding on Narendra Modi's popularity wave, senior TV journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has said that the UPA would have lost the election even if the BJP had not declared Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate.

Rajdeep-Sardesai-at-a-session-on-Deconstructing-Change-The-Election-That-Changed-India-at-JLF-Photo-Mohd-Zakir-HT
Rajdeep-Sardesai-at-a-session-on-Deconstructing-Change-The-Election-That-Changed-India-at-JLF-Photo-Mohd-Zakir-HT

"Let us accept this. Rahul Gandhi was carrying ten years of Manmohan Singh's baggage. There was palpable anger among people," said Sardesai at the session 'Deconstructing Change: The Election That Changed India' presented by the Hindustan Times at the Jaipur Literature Festival 2015.

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"There is a shift taking place in the aspirations of young India. Modi was able to tap into this shift much better than Rahul Gandhi," he said.

On why the country's youth appear to have deserted Congress scion Rahul Gandhi for Narendra Modi, Sardesai said that it mattered that the backgrounds of both the leaders were very distinct.

"The young generation, people in 18- 23 age group are impatience for change. They are much more attracted to someone who is self made than someone who got politics in legacy," he said.

According to the journalist and author, Rahul Gandhi's absence from social media worked against him. Sharing an insight on why Gandhi was not on social media, Sardesai recalled posing the query to one of Gandhi's close aids.

"The person said that was because he believed in directly communicating with his followers."

Talking about Modi's love- hate relationship with English media, the journalist said that Modi's followers are fine as long you praise him but the moment one starts critisising him, they go berserk.

"Modi has brilliant strategy. He used English media journalist like myself and others as villains to project him as a hero," he said.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Danish Raza is a special correspondent with the Hindustan Times. He covers gender, identity politics, human rights, conflicts and online speech.

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