Karnataka election results: Rahul, Modi were of no use

Here we were, presented with two brands in the same category. Two political parties, the Congress and the BJP. Each one employed a brand ambassador: the Congress roped in Rahul Gandhi and the BJP, Narendra Modi. The media speculated on which brand ambassador, Gandhi or Modi, would be the winner. But the battle was not about the brand ambassadors – it was about the product. The BJP was the product that consumers in Karnataka had been used to, and the elections presented the opportunity to continue with it – or junk it for the competitor, the Congress. The product was so bad that the consumer bothered little about the alternative. It didn’t matter what the alternative was called or whether the alternative was as bad as the product that they were used to. [caption id=“attachment_762881” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Two political parties, the Congress and the BJP. Each one employed a brand ambassador: the Congress roped in Rahul Gandhi and the BJP, Narendra Modi. Agencies[/caption] Junking the existing brand was imperative. And no brand ambassador can motivate a consumer to buy a product he has no faith in. That’s why all the meetings Modi spoke at couldn’t change the outcome – and all the speeches Gandhi made contributed little to the outcome. It was never about Modi and Gandhi. It was about a consumer fed up with the status quo.