Coronavirus outbreak: Can politicians work from home?

HAD it been any other year his 30th birthday would have been a grand celebration with supporters and party workers lining up outside Aditya Thackerays Matoshree residence in Bandra But a landmark birthday in 2020 comes with its own limitations Adityaji didnt meet anybody and told people to follow lockdown norms The CM was seen driving his own car to reach Mantralaya and BMC headquarters In fact his own public engagements were limited to visiting COVID19 facilities which was the need of the hour says Priyanka Chaturvedi Rajya Sabha MP and deputy leader of the Shiv Sena which along with the NCP and Congress forms the ruling coalition Maha Vikas Aghadi in MaharashtraPriyanka ChaturvediThe Coronavirusinduced pandemic has affected not just how India Inc works but also changed the countrys political and legal landscape Politicians as their work requires constant onground presence and lawyers and judges because the courts have shut WhatsApp networks and meetings on Zoom and WebX have helped shift the workplace from the street to the webChaturvedi for instance talks of how since the lockdown was enforced in March she has been coordinating relief work on the phone When our leaders have had to be on ground they have taken safety measures and maintained social distancing I live in Goregaon and helped set up a COVID centre with 1200 beds at Dharavi The donor was from Africa and the manufacturer was in Vapi The world came closer despite no one stepping out I didnt visit Dharavi which was marked as a containment zone early on in the pandemic after a surge in cases as it would lead to crowdingNot visiting a centre they helped set up is unusual for a politician she agrees The one time I did visit a centre was the one at NESCO in Goregaon along with MP Gajanan Kirtikar It was imperative for me to be there as the process was getting delayed and we wanted to figure how to smoothen things out she says adding however that the visit didnt become a photo op If anything politicians have had to ensure that they are setting the right example by following lockdown normsAcross party lines internal discussions and meetings between officials of various parties are taking place on commonly used platformsHealth minister Rajesh Tope and NCP chief Sharad Pawar at MMRDA Grounds Bandra in May with a scant entourageSpeaking of how the BJP has adapted to this its spokesperson Keshav Upadhye says the initial few days threw up tech challenges Those who are above 55 years found it difficult to adapt to the new technology They had to be guided through downloading the software understanding it log ins and passwords and how to talk for instance he says but once the initial hiccups subsided the going has been smooth Now we are using the same format for assembly wise meetings and wardlevel meetings as wellMany political press conferences have also been conducted online On how this is arranged NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto explains Earlier we would send out a press note with the designated time and venue of the press conference Different news agencies have a journalist on a particular partys beat Someone covers Shiv Sena someone covers Congress etc So now we have a list of journalists who belong to the NCP beat If theres a PC a message is sent on the group with the time date and link to the Zoom meeting ID And they log inProblems persistmdashpoor Internet connections delayed log ins or multiple people speaking at the same time And Crasto says It cant replace the inperson connect that one enjoys during facetoface meetingsIts the onground programmes that have seen a tapered human presence Many of these says Crasto are currently at a standstill We had the partys foundation day on June 10 While it was organised limited people came and physical distance had to be maintained On a normal day hundreds would have turned up to hoist the flag he addsClyde CrastoDuring cyclone Nisarga which hit the Raigad coast earlier this month for instance Crasto says a lot of workers wanted to help but werent able to step out While local party cadre were out on the field to help the affected others coordinated relief efforts over the phoneIn Nallasopara MLA Kshitij Thakur says he and his party workers have been organising food and ration distribution since the beginning of the lockdown Large kitchens have been organised to cook food for those who need it To ensure social distancing groups have been made over WhatsApp Smaller WhatsApp groups have been made in various zones and each is connected to the nearest kitchen The requirement is sent to these kitchens from where distribution happens Unless theres an emergency we have told the party workers not to visit the office The only time he has stepped out in a public gathering was for a blood donation camp in an attempt to show that it was still safe to donate blood he felt physical presence would encourage the causeKshiitij ThakurWhere one could walk into a political office to seek help in person these parties say their social media presence built over the last few years helps at a time when nonessential commute is not encouraged Twitter Instagram and Facebook can be of help when residents are unable to contact a local party operative or reach out on the helpline numbers of the party websitesAnd while that may hold good for a few months how will the typical election campaign play out during the time of social distancingSenior journalist and author of the title 2019 How Modi Won India Rajdeep Sardesai argues that politics by nature is based on contact with the people and in truest form a politician is a mass politician when she goes out and connects with the people and holds rallies and organises demonstrations Thats gone out of politics because of the Coronavirus but it went out a bit even before For a while with a few notable exceptions there has been no emergence of the classic old style mass politician If the 2014 elections changed India 2019 may well have defined what new India is likely to be all about In my new book I take a look at that fascinating story In the 1970s he points out Mumbai had Mrinal Gore and in the 1960s we had George Fernandes But in the recent past the tradition of politicians hitting the streets to take up peoples issues has got lost With Coronavirus it has been affected a bit more Now its almost like they have an alibi to stay home I am interested in seeing how the Bihar elections will be fought a few months from now Surely a Bihar election cant be fought in the virtual world No state is as politicised as Bihar and I am convinced that in the end the states politicos will forget social distancing and hit the roadThrough the lockdown Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis has taken many press conferences over video platforms In this period onground activities saw a limited turnout PICGetty ImagesWill parties that have social media networks on Facebook and WhatsApp do better The WhatsAppisation of politics happened before Corona and will gain more traction now WhatsApp helps gain instantaneous traction BJP had lakhs of WhatsApp groups in the 2019 elections with a group for every booth But will it replace the rally I dont think so Earlier a rally helped create the mahoul atmosphere of an election But now with social media the rally will have even less importance than in recent times There will be a shift from doortodoor campaigning and a greater involvement through social media This has been true for a few years nowRajdeep SardesaiSardesai adds that historically ahead of an election in India large hoardings would be pasted across the town and campaigning was a festival until the Election Commission cracked down and brought in budgets Now you will find that instead of 10 rallies people may do only two or three Instead theyd rather save that money to spend on much better micro management through technologyCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news