The chosen one

I was interested in being involved in the coverage of elections. I’ve always felt that Vinod Dua is entertaining as also informative. So, I asked him if he was interested in doing a show with me, and he agreed.

In the pre-election phase, my contribution will be minimal. Vinod will be handling the show from the studio, while I will be the reporter outside the studio. However, during the counting period, both Vinod and I will be co-hosting the show from the studio, together.

Right now we have a person talking to politician X and then to Y. We are trying to avoid that and broaden the canvas. The shows will not only have interviews with political leaders. It is also going to be about the problems facing democracy, what is the people’s understanding of democracy and what their expectations are. Also, we will be looking into issues and not just state-wise politics.

Well, it will be much better.

With an international audience one cannot assume the same level of understanding of the situation. A major attraction in the foreign media will be Sonia Gandhi. While we will pay attention to her, we will not go overboard with it.

I feel that all the surveys that have been conducted so far are slightly premature. This is going to be a difficult election to read. It is not like the old-fashioned ones where it was the Congress versus the rest. It is not that simple this time.