Five Firebrand Speakers Who Can Give BJP a Headache

In contemporary politics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is considered a great orator. His oratory skills are often yielded by the Bhartiya Janta Party as a weapon to keep the opposition from rising.

But as the heat at the Congress Plenary 2018 intensified, so did the party’s enthusiasm. As Navjot Singh Siddhu took charge in his full form, party workers clenched their fists in determination and the claps did not stop. His pink turban gleaming and his spirits undeterred and unfettered.

Judging from the way Navjot Singh Siddhu and Raj Thakeray on 18 March unleashed a strong verbal tornado on the BJP, and the rate at which their speeches have been viewed over and over in the last 24 hours, it has become amply clear that these two orators can become a cause of a massive headache for the BJP.

This argument can further be corroborated by the fact that in the past few days, the two big speeches that PM Modi gave got less viewership on social media than his speeches normally do. While Siddhu’s video got more that 2.5 lakh views within 24 hours on Quint Hindi’s Youtube channel alone.

So does this mean that PM Modi's oration is facing competition by that of these five: Navjot Singh Siddhu, Raj Thakeray, Kanhaiya Kumar, Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani.

The run up to 2019 elections is going to see a slew of verbal attacks. In this case the Congress party and the Opposition can make their game stronger by putting fourth these five orators. Here's how:

Navjot Singh Siddhu

There was once a time when Siddhu would don the saffron turban. He was also elected as a BJP MLA from Amritsar. But his political ambitions grew, there were tiffs and he did not take too much time to climb down the BJP vehicle and get on to the Congress caravan.

It also did not take him too long to change the environment in Punjab and to crawl into the hearts of the Punjabis. Siddhu is one of those orators know how to deliver a punch while making a point. He puts across his views with admirable strength and impact. His speeches may sometimes lack content, but the last person in his audience will also not miss the impact. The speech he gave at the Congress Plenary has been viewed millions of times on Youtube.

While Siddhu is getting praises for his speech, some are also questioning his loyalty since he is one of those who switched parties in the middle of his political career. It is also interesting to note that a number of comments on Youtube have suggested that Congress should use Siddhu to put across their important arguments. They are saying Congress should give Siddhu a chance to raise important issues in front of PM Modi.

Raj Thakeray

At a rally on the occasion of "Gudi Padwa" in Mumbai, it was hard for anybody to miss Raj Thakeray's style and the fury burning on his face. He spoke with passion in favour of an India without Modi. In his speech, Raj Thakeray said:

The Government stopped the registration of the unemployed. They did a scam in the Rafael deal. But nobody is talking about this. We bought a fighter plane worth Rs 500 crore for approximately Rs 1,600 crore.

Raj Thackeray is anyway famous for his political fervor. In the coming days, PM Modi and the BJP should watch out for Thackeray's verbal attacks.

Kanhaiya Kumar

Kanhaiya can be called a social media sensation. Till a while ago this title used to belong to PM Modi too. But now PM Modi's social media shine is beginning to wear off. Kanhaiya's statements and speeches are shared wildly on social media. They are viewed crores of times. A News18 video, in which he comes face-to-face with BJP's Sambit Patra, has been viewed more than 1 million times on the official YouTube channel of News18 India and lakhs of times on other YouTube channels.

Kanhaiya carries with himself the JNU brand. The same brand which is extremely popular among the youth. His language carries the rustic appeal of someone who is grounded and does not have too many airs and graces. These qualities make his speeches stronger. In the upcoming days, Kanhaiya's speeches can also become a grave threat for the Modi government.

Hardik Patel

Even though Hardik Patel did not make any great achievement in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha polls, the man sure knows how to collect a crowd and garner a resounding applause. Be it his Surat rally or his Twitter adventures, Hardik Patel shines everywhere.

Hardik can rise again in 2019 in Gujarat and create an impact again.

Jignesh Mevani

In the last few days, if any politician has risen as a champion of Dalit voices it is Jignesh Mevani. You see him fighting with the police. You see him on the streets fighting for their supporters. And he is sharp in his oration. Jignesh has established himself as the voice of Dalits.

Mevani's Hindi may not be that clear, but his tongue lacks any ambiguity. He is straightforward and he speaks without any qualms. The youth, and especially that from Gujarat, seems to be growing very fond of him. This is probably why his videos are also getting lakhs of views on YouTube.

These five can prove treacherous for the BJP, and the party has enough reason to be really careful of them.

Is PM Modi's Popularity Diminishing?

Pitted against these five, if you look at PM Modi's last two speeches it will not take too long to realise that his viewership is diminishing. The speech delivered by the PM at the "Krishi Unnati Mela" on 17 March got about 1,000 views on BJP's official YouTube channel and only about 7,000 even on PM Modi's official channel as of 19 March 6:30 pm.

So is there something that is changing? Are PM Modi's speeches gradually becoming boring even for his admirers? In the run up to 2019, BJP and PM Modi himself will have to ponder over this as well as over ways to do better than the five powerful orators listed above.

(This piece was originally published on Quint Hindi and has been translated to English by Mekhala Saran.)

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