As soon as counting of votes reached to the final rounds and it became clear that JMM led alliance was getting maximum seats and Hemant Soren was all set to become next Chief Minister of Jharkhand, news channels on the television started airing a curious picture. Hemant Soren was shown riding a bicycle inside his quarters area, carrying a small kid on it. He was shown making joyful circles on the bicycle while members of his large family were hanging around. News reporters started praising Junior Soren for his "simplicity", "humility" and remaining grounded to his "roots".
It should be noted that ever since the counting of votes for state assembly elections had started since morning, Hemant Soren was not to be seen anywhere. He was "hiding" in his bungalow, as the news reporters had informed us. On the other hand, outgoing Chief Minister Raghubar Das was caught on camera many times as he moved in and out of his residence for work. Hemant Soren on the other hand seemed to have no other work that day. His entire political career was staked on the election result and he seemed to have planned it well. The fact that he did not need to move out of his residence since morning till evening tells about the planning he did for the "D Day". It is obvious that the bicycle ride was planned for camera too. It gave him a good "starting point".
The next day, below picture came out on the front page of a Hindi newspaper in Delhi:
The picture shows Hemant Soren in "shorts", checking his mobile, while a small bathroom towel is resting on his shoulder. The picture has been labelled as "Hemant: From simplicity to power".
Two things are remarkable in above picture and its caption. First, this is a very casual picture. Anyone else could also have got similar picture clicked using a mobile phone of any family member or a friend, if one wanted to. This is nothing of the outstanding sort of picture. And if you notice the place, you would notice costly tiles on the floor along with costly furniture. These also do not raise any eyebrows. After all, Hemant Soren is the son Shibu Soren of three-time Chief Minister who has a huge list of corruption charges to exhibit as his achievement.
The fact that his father is a three-time Chief Minister and was hounded by the CBI for years on corruption charges, also explains how the newspaper has called him only "Hemant" in the caption title, and not "Hemant Soren". Is Hemant trying to break away from the burden of his family name since it is nothing to be proud of? Time will tell.
Both images - of Hemant riding a bicycle inside the boundary of his bungalow and Hemant wearing a shorts inside the comfort of his home are pretty ordinary images. But the manner in which many media houses have used these images to create a larger-than-life image of Hemant Soren as a man who has kept his "roots" intact; tells about a larger picture. It seems Hemant Soren and his JMM are managing the media very well. And in a planned manner, media is showcasing his "virtue signaling" as genuine signs of virtue. At this stage, this is the only speculation I can make. Time will tell the rest. But did the BJP / Raghubar Das Government failed where Hemant Soren succeeded? Managing the "impression war" better?
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