Some of Zee Entertainment’s popular television shows are now blatantly pushing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image and the schemes that have been announced under the BJP government. With the General Elections just days away, the ruling party seems to be leaving no platform bereft of their covert or outright promotional activity on behalf of the prime minister.
A Modi Biopic, NaMo TV, and Now TV Serials Campaigning For Modi?
Vartha Bharati | 07-04-2019 | 19:44:00 IST
Here are examples from two popular television serials, both on the Zee Entertainment Network’s group of channels, that are openly propagating Narendra Modi’s image and the Swachh Bharat campaign, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Gas Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana on their shows.
The Glorification of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named
These clips tweeted by @Victimgames show an episode of Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain!highlighting the information that the government has built 9 crore toilets under its Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, saying that now Indian citizens no longer have to relieve themselves in public.
Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! promoting PM Modi and Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan.
That aside, the dialogue writer of the episode, which aired on 4 April, has the best of adjectives to describe the current PM (without naming him) in these words:
“Ek woh aadmi hai jo din bhar desh ki akhandta aur swachhta ki baat karta hai...” (And then there’s a man who talks about the country’s oneness and cleanliness all day...)
and
“Jaise hamari aaj ki sarkar poore josh kharosh se lagi hui hai ki bharat ki ekta aur akhandta ko khatra na pahunche, swachhta abhiyan ki baat kar rahi hai. Aaj ek karmat, sushil, gyaani, atulniya purush ki wajah se hum swachhta ki vatavaran mein saans le rahe hain.” (We have a government today that is focused enthusiastic about protecting India’s unity, that is talking about a cleanliness drive. Today, because of one hardworking, sincere, wise, extraordinary man, we can breathe in a clean environment.)
Another episode of Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain!, which aired on 5 April, plugs the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Gas Yojana, while publicising information that 5 crore households will benefit from it and that it will generate 1 lakh jobs.
Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! promoting PM Modi and Ujjwala Gas Yojana.
Again there is a glorification of PM Narendra Modi with a not-so-subtle reference to the ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’ slogan.
“Aapko pata hai ab kuch bhi namumkin nahin hai, sab kuch mumkin hai. Aur yeh sab mumkin woh kiye hain jo hum sab ke beech mein se nikal kar aaye hain (You know that now nothing is impossible, everything is possible. And the one who has made all this possible is one who rose up from amongst us),” says the wife to her husband in the show.
Yesterday i realized Modi has found another venue to advertise himself. i watch "Bhabhi ji ghar par hain" (that's right, deal with it), this TV serial has started to use some not so subtle Product placement/advertisement recently, but yesterday something else happened
— Victim (Heath Ledger) Floperoi (@VictimGames) April 6, 2019
...1/n pic.twitter.com/hClL6PErvF
The ‘Mumkin-Namumkin’ Wordplay
An excerpt of another popular show Tujhse Hai Raabta tweeted by @MautKaPashinda, shows the main characters promoting the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana, which has apparently (according to the show) benefitted more than 15 crore people across the country.
Once again there is a reference to the ‘namumkin’ and ‘mumkin’ – keywords from Modi’s slogan – in the show, and a dialogue that says that this would have been an impossible dream 5 years ago.
— Rohan Desai (@MautKaPashinda) April 6, 2019
While Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain! airs on TV, Tujhse Hai Raabta is a part of Zee TV’s shows, both channels are owned by the Zee Group.
According to an insider, though the production companies involved in the scripting and making of these shows may not be supporters of the BJP, they would have no say when it comes to the content that they carry if the diktat to promote PM Modi and his schemes comes from the channel’s top management.
Remember, there is already a full-feature film on the PM titled PM Narendra Modi,an entire web series on Eros Now on Modi, a 24-hour channel NaMo TV dedicated to the PM, besides other media and news channels which unabashedly toe the state’s line.
Added to this, if the government also wants to push its agenda via TV soaps before the general elections, it just exposes an unhealthy streak of desperation in the current establishment.
Courtesy: www.thequint.com
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EC role, Hindu vote consolidation among factors for BJP win in Bengal polls: J-K CM Omar
05-05-2026 ¦
05-05-2026 IST
Srinagar (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday attributed the BJP's West Bengal win to a "significant role" played by the Election Commission (EC), alongside a consolidation of Hindu votes and a fractured minority mandate.
Abdullah also said the INDIA bloc needs to define its role in the political landscape of the country and make it clear whether the opposition alliance was limited to the parliamentary elections or extended to the state elections as well.
Talking to PTI Videos, Abdullah hinted that the EC has compromised its neutrality by conducting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal and linked it to the BJP's gains in the state, claiming large-scale deletion of legitimate voters.
On the performance of the BJP in the just concluded assembly elections, Abdullah said the saffron party has almost nothing to show in southern states.
"So then you look at West Bengal and Assam. Yes, the BJP improved its tally in Assam. There are various reasons for that. You know as well as I do, what those are. West Bengal, I think we need to look at the results very carefully," he said.
"The easiest explanation for the West Bengal result is the serious curtailing of voter list," Abdullah said.
"Voters found their names deleted. People who served in uniform and fought for this country on the borders, who were considered Indian citizens all their lives, were suddenly held to a higher standard and not allowed to vote. Something is not right," he said.
While alleging that the EC played a "significant part" in the results, the chief minister admitted the outcome was multifaceted and noted a consolidation of over 60 per cent of the Hindu vote towards the BJP and a "significant fracture" in the minority vote, particularly in seats where Muslims constitute over 50 per cent of the population.
"There is no doubt that the role of the Election Commission played a significant part in the results but we will also have to look at the other factors," he said.
He said the results of West Bengal cannot be compared to those in other states. "The situation was unique to West Bengal. The SIR that was done, the way in which the voter lists were changed, the sort of minute scrutiny that the Election Commission subjected West Bengal to, the role of the central investigative agencies.
"All of these are situations that at least in recent electoral history of India are unique to West Bengal. So to suggest that we can learn lessons from West Bengal and implement them in other parts of the country, I think would not be correct," he said.
Abdullah had recently said that if the West Bengal results throw a surprise, the role of EC will come under scrutiny.
However, during Tuesday's interview, the chief minister said he still maintains that electronic voting machines (EVMs) do not lead to vote theft.
"What we saw in West Bengal...I know there are a lot of people who believe that the EVMs themselves are flawed. I am not a proponent of that conspiracy theory.
"But I do believe that the Election Commission has done itself no favours in the way in which it has gone about both the process of delimitation and the process of finalisation of electoral rolls," he said and cited the example of delimitation exercise in Jammu and Kashmir or Assam.
"These are clear examples of how the process was done to benefit one party or in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, one party and its allies. And the results speak for themselves. You created seven new seats in Jammu and Kashmir and out of those six seats were won by the BJP. You redrew assembly constituencies to benefit one particular party or its allies. And the same is true for West Bengal as well," he said.
Referring to the INIDA bloc, he said the election results were no new message for the alliance.
"We need to decide what the INDIA bloc is for. Is it only for Parliament or for state elections as well?" he asked.
"What happened in West Bengal is unfortunate. The Congress and TMC fought against each other. Now the Congress agrees with Mamata Banerjee that 100 seats were stolen, but the fact is they fought each other," he said.
Despite the friction, Abdullah reaffirmed the "pre-eminent position" of the Congress within the opposition alliance, dismissing the idea of any other party assuming the mantle.
"The Congress is the only party other than the BJP with a pan-India presence. All of us acknowledge this," he stated.
"To suggest someone else can assume a leadership role would be incorrect. Kharge Sahib is the president of the Congress, and by virtue of that, he assumes leadership of the INDIA bloc meetings. That is the way it should be," the chief minister said.
Abdullah said any 'Common Minimum Programme' would depend on whether the opposition alliance decides to fight state assembly elections collectively, noting that he would share his specific views with the bloc internally rather than through the media.
