The 'positioning' lesson in Indian elections
I have written in the past about whether 'fear' can be used to appeal to the senses. The answer is, it can, but must be used wisely and within a relevant context.
The BJP's use of fear to lure the voter didn't work because of two critical reasons. One, as an appeal it didn't carry as much weight as a 'non-fear positive' lure that the Congress Party used. Two, the context wasn't right.
Before I get into explanations, note when 'fear' works. One approach to the curvilinear explanation of fear is the protection motivation model. According to this theory, four cognitive appraisal processes mediate the individual's response to the threat: appraising (1) the information available regarding the severity of the perceived threat, (2) the perceived probability that the threat will occur, (3) the perceived ability of a coping behaviour to remove the threat, (4) the individual's perceived ability to carry out the coping behaviour.
At a time when the average Indian voter cares more about his physiological needs, the fear lure is superseded by a more 'down-to-earth' lure. The lure of fulfillment of basic needs. Surely one's security matters, but not as much when one's more worried about food to satiate hunger and a shelter to live in. The present Indian context is one where the need for security isn't as strong as the need for basic building blocks of life. Yes, India does face the threat of cross border terrorism. But that threat doesn't have pan-Indian appeal. Its more localised to certain regions that have been susceptible. In fact, its interesting to note that despite 26/11, Mumbai overwhelmingly voted for the Congress party. Also remember the threat of communal violence too is real one. And that's something that people associate the BJP with. So any gains made on the cross border terrorism based fear front is neutralised by the fact that the BJP is associated with internal strife.
The Congress party with its 'positive' message ended up with an appeal that was stronger than the 'fear' one used by the BJP. I admit, this wasn't the only factor that counted in these elections. Surely there were more issues that were far more complex. But it would be well to note that 'appeals' that political parties conjure up largely dictate the way they position themselves. The positive positioning plank adopted by the Congress worked for the them. For the BJP on the other hand, their fear factor, and a position based on that, fell flat.
The BJP's use of fear to lure the voter didn't work because of two critical reasons. One, as an appeal it didn't carry as much weight as a 'non-fear positive' lure that the Congress Party used. Two, the context wasn't right.
Before I get into explanations, note when 'fear' works. One approach to the curvilinear explanation of fear is the protection motivation model. According to this theory, four cognitive appraisal processes mediate the individual's response to the threat: appraising (1) the information available regarding the severity of the perceived threat, (2) the perceived probability that the threat will occur, (3) the perceived ability of a coping behaviour to remove the threat, (4) the individual's perceived ability to carry out the coping behaviour.
At a time when the average Indian voter cares more about his physiological needs, the fear lure is superseded by a more 'down-to-earth' lure. The lure of fulfillment of basic needs. Surely one's security matters, but not as much when one's more worried about food to satiate hunger and a shelter to live in. The present Indian context is one where the need for security isn't as strong as the need for basic building blocks of life. Yes, India does face the threat of cross border terrorism. But that threat doesn't have pan-Indian appeal. Its more localised to certain regions that have been susceptible. In fact, its interesting to note that despite 26/11, Mumbai overwhelmingly voted for the Congress party. Also remember the threat of communal violence too is real one. And that's something that people associate the BJP with. So any gains made on the cross border terrorism based fear front is neutralised by the fact that the BJP is associated with internal strife.
The Congress party with its 'positive' message ended up with an appeal that was stronger than the 'fear' one used by the BJP. I admit, this wasn't the only factor that counted in these elections. Surely there were more issues that were far more complex. But it would be well to note that 'appeals' that political parties conjure up largely dictate the way they position themselves. The positive positioning plank adopted by the Congress worked for the them. For the BJP on the other hand, their fear factor, and a position based on that, fell flat.
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