It was a strategy which went wrong from the word go. The UPA spin doctors failed to read the implications and decided to adopt a strong arm tactics by arresting anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.
If that was not enough, the Congress media cell bosses nearly decided to field a former party MP and a senior journalist to counter the media support in favour of Mr Hazare, little knowing that the journalist concerned had switched over to the saffron camp a long time back. Only when his name was sent to the Congress high command, a senior party functionary spotted it and immediately stopped the media cell from committing what could have been a “major media blunder”.
The government continued to grope in the dark, as Mr Hazare virtually held it hostage and kept rejecting all its conditions. Sources disclosed that the media planning of the PMO and the AICC were being viewed as the “biggest failure” in the entire Anna drama.
It was pointed out that from the very beginning it was the media, particularly the television channels, which went on to create a major hype over Mr Hazare’s fight against corruption. “The television channels played a crucial role in garnering support for Anna,” a senior Congress functionary said.
It was being felt that this was the time the PMO and the AICC should have planned its media campaign to counter this. However, both apparently floundered and virtually no attempt was made to focus on the media strategy against the movement. “It seemed we did not learn our lesson after the Anna agitation at April 4,” the Congress functionary said.
At this juncture, the government “is merely fire fighting, as support across the nation continues to build for Anna. Parleys were held, decisions changed every hour and government began bending backwards to get out of the “self-created mess,” the functionary pointed out. The entire fight is now being viewed as a “humble Anna against a mighty government,” he added. Also the UPA allies were apparently “kept in dark,” over the decision to arrest Mr Hazare, sources said. Apart from being tore apart by the Opposition, the government is also under pressure from its allies.