THERE was a time when Mayawati,
former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh used to roar in the state. The biggest
victim was media. She had her own style at press conferences. She used to have
the press release ready in hand, stand on the dias, read it out and move on.
There was no debriefing session. Even her cronies used to vanish immediately
after the press conference. Journalists did do their job but half-heartedly.
Mayawati was the Chief Minister of the biggest state of India; it was a
compulsion to report her activities under any circumstances. Times have
changed. Mayawati has also changed. She is now all honey and milk with the
media. A week before the first phase of polls in the state, she invited senior
scribes of Lucknow for tea. Amongst them was the editor of one of UP’s top
newspapers. Also present at Behanji’s tea meet were two of her closest
confidants, Satish Mishra and Ambith Rajan. Just when they sat down at the
table for tea, Behanji asked her confidants to leave. Then she asked the
journalists: “Tell me, why is it that you portray me as a small player in the elections.
Is Akhilesh behind this?” The media persons were surprised; she was told:
“Behanji, such decisions come from the bosses, the top management.” Then came
the masterstroke from the journalists, “you have never cultivated relationships
with either journalist or with media houses. You do not even give
advertisements for your election campaign in the newspapers. So how do you
think anyone will support you?” The message was loud and clear: elections are
business for political parties, so why should newspapers lag behind.
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