Political gaffes and PR faux pas

The election tamasha irrespective of the country in which it is played is filled with its share of fun, chaos and entertainment. As the US democracy heats up to elections, political drama and mudslinging is at its entertaining best. One of the recent high points of the elections for the media was the inappropriate comment by Republican. Todd Akin, the US Senate candidate from Missouri who spoke about ‘legitimate rape’. Off course, we don’t have to go far to witness such comments, Congress spokesperson, Manish Tiwari while speaking to the media during the northern power grid failure stated firmly, “there is no power crisis”. Known as ‘foot in mouth’ phenomenon; political gaffes are common all around the world.


Politicians and their PR consultants constantly battle odds to avoid or ensure minimum such gaffes. Following are some of these blunders which may prove detrimental or cause sudden death to a political career.



1) “What was that…?”

Long tiring days, surrounded by public constantly and a zillion things to think about are a perfect recipe for word mix-up or temporary memory lapse. Often politicians tend to speak out wrong names, numbers, words causing major embarrassment and a good laugh on youtube. However, these blunders have not yet claimed anyone’s political career. The understanding heard of voters, is always ready to forgive the mispronunciation, slip of the tongue of their leader.


2) Say something stupid:

After 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Congress General Secretary, Digvijay Singh was quoted attributing Mumbai ATS chief, Hemant Karkare’s death to RSS. A rumbustious accusation, which propelled him to news headlines, also got him out of party favors for longer than anyone envisaged. Such gaffes are unpardonable, if one still manages to continue in politics they are often tagged or branded with their unpopular comments and have to carry the baggage throughout their careers.


3) Testing 1, 2, 3…

A true leader among politicians is assessed by his ability to hold the Janata by his every word. Nothing is more sacred for the politicians than hogging the microphone to speak to Janata. However, these microphones could well be end of one’s journey in politics. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress’s President, Manikrao Thackeray was caught on microphone speaking of party’s finances. Even though Thackeray was able to save his scalp, his partner in the dialogue had to loose his position in the party and eventually dropped out of politics.


4) Kinsley Gaffe

Named after famous journalist Michael Kinsley, the Kinsley gaffe in Michael’s word is, "A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth - some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say.” However, now days it is a potent tool for politicians to maneuver journalists into reporting, unsubstantiated articles about their political rivals.


5) Sleeping on camera, and off it

Politicians are caught napping during parliamentary sessions, debates and discussions or during public functions. It is humanly impossible to put in long working hours with minimal sleep and rest. Former Indian Prime Minister H.D.Devegowda was infamous for his public naps at various domestic and international summits. However, politicians are used to getting into more trouble when they sleep off camera; most are not able to sustain their careers after such expose. Bill Clinton was able to hold on to white house, however Indian politics is a different animal. Seasoned campaigners such as Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mahipal Maderna, and N D Tiwari paid the price of primal instincts by sacrificing their public life.

Social media and Samaj

LK Advani - The Iron man of India created storm waves in Indian polity by suggesting the sixteenth elections to the Lok Sabha in 2014 would bear neither the Congress nor the BJP at the helm of Indian politics. Advani had paraphrased his discussion with 2 senior cabinet ministers from the UPA. The day this news broke out, electronic channels spared no political calculation unperturbed, everyone was talking about a national leader of India’s alternate political alliance conceding defeat before the war bugles were blown. The news caught front pages in most newspapers and was the topic of opinion pieces for editorial spaces. LK Advani had successfully utilized a social media platform to convey his message to the target audience. The timing for the blog was well calculated, as millions of Indian viewers across the nation would catch fancy to the Sunday breaking news. Staying away from the conventional press conference or mundane press release; Advani was able to pull a large readership to his blog at the same time inviting comments and feedback from the readers. Advani at 86 has proved to be on a learning curve, a classic example of “never too late”.


One of the latest entrants in social media platform is our brand new President, Shri. Pranab Mukherjee. Pranab Da is not India’s first president to have an active online presence. In 2004, former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam launched an email access to the President of India. It is said, Dr. Kalam would personally reply to most of these emails received from far corners of the country. This outreach ensured a meteoric rise in Dr. Kalam’s popularity amongst the educated middle class, making him one of the most cherished Indian Presidents. Pranab Babu, however seems to be more conservative, instead of launching a presidential portal or a direct email access, the new president has opted for a Facebook profile, an obvious choice given over 50 million Indians are registered on Facebook. Irrespective of the efficiency of Pranab Da’s new online presence, this image building exercise would try to distance Pranab Da from an image of a seasoned politician (congressman) to being a national unbiased leader. (Read: 3 Public Relations Tips for President Pranab Mukherjee)


Narendra Modi’s optimum utilization of social media is exemplary. After 2002 Godhra riots, Modi appointed various Indian as well as international image building agencies to help distance him for the carnage episode. A vital part of the strategy was Modi’s online presence and his direct communication to the people of Gujarat through social media engagement. The strategy has borne rich fruits for the leader, with massive domestic and international following to his blog and twitter account. Meticulous Selection of agenda and topics for online comments is just as vital, as proved by the case of Congress MP, Shashi Tharoor whose tweets got him booted out of the office.

The power of online media is immense, and growing. In the west, there is a paradigm shift in readership patterns, with most people switching to read their daily news on their laptops, tabs or mobiles. Print editions of newspapers may seize to exist in some years. Online media is also more powerful as it follows the fundamentals of fission; once online there is no control over the reach and spread of messaging as it tends to go viral, crossing international boundaries and languages.

The Indian PR industry however is caught in the rut of chasing print & electronic coverage; after all it is these sources of coverage (evaluations) which determine the next pay cheque. Most consultants push their releases in the media through relations developed over the years. Clips of releases carried word-for-word are proudly displayed during review presentations and received by clients with a twinkle in their eyes. But we are well in the 21st century; our media has expanded from just the conventional radio, print and electronic to the world at my fingertips opportunity of “internet”. The step-child treatment is due to an adequate/efficient evaluation procedures and internet penetration in the country.

As leaders, PR consultants should and would soon realize the role social media could play in political campaigns. From helping in mapping electoral preferences to helping in strategizing an effective outreach program, Social media is the next big wave in India’s politics. PR consultants, campaign managers and political aides have to recognize the fact to counter the challenges and utilize the opportunities of future elections.