As I write this, the previous Government has been voted back to power in Tamil Nadu with a result that was last seen in 1984, during the time of M.G. Ramachandran, who, to date, is considered by some as the greatest Chief Minister the State has ever seen. Once the victory was sealed, the national news channels, which had spent the morning poring over multiple analyses, voter mindsets and trends as numbers danced on the screen, switched to telecasting scenes of victory and the jubilance which had pervaded the air around the winning candidate’s office. Reporters bravely stood in the midst of party workers, who were working up a frenzy dancing, and shoving sweets in each other’s mouths. The scenes being played in the regional television channels though, were a little different.
The morning of the day the State election results are declared in Tamil Nadu usually sees a flurry of activity across regional television channels. They have experts, hosts, scrolling numbers and expensive productions. They are also the products of political parties, which is why when counting begins, the hosts and political experts on the shows talk with gusto. However, by the time the winner emerges, in what feels like a twisted reality show, hardly two channels continue their telecast of the election results.
In 2006, when the DMK and its allies won in Tamil Nadu, the channel affiliated to the party pressed on about the ‘fair verdict’ and the ‘victory of the masses’ while the one affiliated to the AIADMK had shifted to black-and-white MGR films. Similarly, in 2011, the AIADMK was voted into power with a sweeping majority. As the results were brought to light, the above channel declared victory a good one hour before official results were announced, and instead of discussing vote numbers, began a fresh conversation about the new Chief Minister. The others switched to award show reruns. This convenient switch in programming during results day is now a common joke, to the point where people now predict it the moment a slightest trend or lead shows up.
This year though, the channels belonging to the losing parties didn’t back down and change programming. Some channels showed delayed numbers which were favourable to the party they were aligned with; some others took the numbers out, but persevered with their opinions. Some even started putting out the correct numbers and admitted failure (albeit after crying foul play), which was radical, considering the denial we are used to.
That television channels continued with the election broadcast, I suppose, is a good sign; a sign of fledgling maturity that is beginning to show in people, perhaps. I must admit, though, it also felt a little odd — after all, what is results day on Tamil television without a disconnected programme showing you how to make the perfect paruppu vadai ? I was thinking of this out loud, when the Internet pointed me to a channel which is the namesake of a certain actor-turned-politician, whose party had a terrible run this year. This channel, after insisting that no party had won any seats, shifted to a show which detailed the most authentic way to cook brinjals. All was well with the world again.
