See All News by Ravish Kumar
“Bharat Mata ki jai.”
Hello, I’m Ravish Kumar.
If you look at the Bihar election coverage, you’ll notice something strange: the analysis has now overtaken the actual reporting. Bihar has become a case study of how India’s largest media ecosystem can manufacture, magnify, and then mandate a single storyline — that the BJP won purely through “hard work.”
This framing is not innocent. It is not accidental. It is a tactic.
The Manufactured Myth of “Hard Work”
Across the “Godi Media” landscape, one theme dominates: mehnat.
BJP’s mehnat. BJP leaders’ mehnat. BJP workers’ mehnat.
But this excessive celebration of “hard work” seems designed to achieve one thing: drown out and delegitimize questions raised in other states — about alleged voter list manipulation, inflated booth turnout, missing CCTV footage, and the Election Commission’s opaque functioning.
The moment Bihar’s results were declared, the media declared:
“See? No voter fraud. No SIR issue. No irregularities. Everything was smooth.”
In two lines, the Election Commission’s role was dismissed.
In zero lines, the structural imbalance in resources was addressed.
In hours, the “hard work” narrative became the only permissible analysis.
What About the Ministers’ Real Hard Work?
Names like Dharmendra Pradhan and Bhupendra Yadav were repeatedly praised for their campaign efforts.
But Pradhan is the Education Minister — should we not evaluate his “hard work” by the state of India’s universities?
But Yadav is the Environment Minister — should we not evaluate his “hard work” by the quality of the air Indians breathe?
Why does their “hard work” become visible only during elections?
The Pollution Question the Media Never Asks
Delhi’s air is poison. Everyone can feel it.
But if BJP were to win Delhi tomorrow, would pollution suddenly stop being an issue?
Media never made pollution an issue anyway. There was no sustained questioning of accountability, no tough reporting — only silence.
The silence is the real scandal.
The Terror Attack That Became a Non-Issue
A terror blast took place in Delhi.
For two days, there was no press conference, no naming of Pakistan, no clarity.
New and conflicting phrases were invented: accidental blast, panic blast, hurry blast, error blast.
Confusion was manufactured — accountability was not.
Six days later, NIA finally called it a suicide attack — still without naming a responsible organization.
But even this was turned into:
“Delhi blast is not an election issue.”
Is this journalism?
Or narrative management?
When Media Frames the Election, Not the Facts
Flip through TV debates and you’ll notice the choreography:
four faces, one script.
One speaks softly, one aggressively, one theatrically, one “analytically.”
But all of them arrive at the same destination:
BJP’s hard work won the election.
Where were these reporters when voter lists were being challenged?
Where were they when alleged misuse of welfare schemes was raised?
Where were they when votes increased mysteriously at specific booths after 5 PM?
Nowhere.
The Money the Media Doesn’t Want to Discuss
This “hard work” story also masks a massive imbalance:
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₹10,000 cash transfers before elections
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World Bank funds allegedly diverted
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₹30,000 crore mysteriously available for disbursal in a debt-ridden state
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Helicopter hours: NDA 1600+, Mahagathbandhan ~500
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Facebook ad spend: BJP ₹2.75 crore vs Congress ₹7.5 lakh
Is this an even playing field?
Can “hard work” compete with this?
The Maharashtra Precedent the Media Buried
Months ago, in Maharashtra:
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12,000 booths saw abnormal post-5 PM turnout
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CCTV footage went missing
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1 crore new voters were added after the Lok Sabha election
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Same coalition that won Lok Sabha got wiped out in Assembly
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EC refused key documents
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Allegations of “industrial-scale” election engineering surfaced
Yet no major channel investigated.
The story died quietly.
The Opposition’s Questions — and Media’s Silence
Rahul Gandhi’s press conferences on alleged voter list fraud required months of preparation, document collection, and data analysis.
But did any mainstream channel highlight that “hard work”?
No.
Instead, the “analysis” focused on:
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how he travels
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how he campaigns
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which soap he uses
This is not journalism.
This is PR.
Why Does Only One Side’s Hard Work Matter?
If BJP’s “hard work” is the reason for victory:
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Did JDU do no hard work?
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Did LJP do no hard work?
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Did AIMIM do no hard work?
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Did Tejashwi’s 170 rallies not count?
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Did opposition parties simply sleep through the election?
The media conveniently glorifies a few BJP leaders while ignoring local BJP workers themselves.
The narrative is not about labor — it is about loyalty.
The Real Question: Was This a Level Playing Field?
Democracy is not merely about who wins —
it is about how they win.
If:
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money is uneven
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media space is uneven
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administrative action is uneven
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cash transfers are uneven
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helicopter access is uneven
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Election Commission scrutiny is uneven
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and coverage of issues is uneven
…then what exactly is equal in this election?
A match played on a tilted field cannot be analyzed solely by praising the winning striker’s “hard work.”
The Media Wants You to Think Only One Thing
“BJP worked hard.
Opposition slept.
EC was perfect.
Everything was fair.”
This is the new consensus they want to manufacture.
Because they know:
People no longer trust them.
They are now seen as BJP’s media partners, not journalists.
The “hard work” narrative is their way of cleansing their own image.
But truth does not disappear just because TV anchors stop saying it.
The Fight for Democracy Requires Honesty
If the opposition wants to fight meaningfully, it must:
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present its evidence
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show its groundwork
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reveal the irregularities
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expose the misuse of welfare systems
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challenge cash transfers
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question helicopter economics
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and communicate directly with the public
If elections are no longer level contests, then the debate about winning and losing is irrelevant.
In the End
Before praising or blaming any political party, ask just one question:
Was the referee fair?
If not, then no amount of “hard work” analysis can explain the result.
India deserves elections that are credible, transparent, and equitable.
Not stories designed to protect institutions, insulate the powerful, and infantilize the public.
And yes — the media’s “hard work” for the BJP also deserves full credit.
Namaskar,
Ravish Kumar
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