Arvind Kejriwal's Nocebo Mantra and why you can't ignore him!

By

It will be a big mistake to underestimate Arvind Kejriwal's impact on the upcoming Lok Sabha elections!

 Ever since he started his political campaign, Arvind Kejriwal has been two steps ahead of his competition. Be it his innovative use of social media to reach young voters, banners on autos across Delhi city or the incessant radio campaign amongst other things - his political rivals were always playing catch-up and it showed in the results of the Delhi elections.

Forty nine days after assuming power as the Chief Minister of Delhi, after creating one ruckus after the other, being labeled as an anarchist where everyday governance turned into a prime time reality show, Arvind Kejriwal finally resigned from his post. Fallout of this: 

A major part of Arvind Kejriwal's educated fan base has deserted him but he still magically manages to find new admirers and fanatic followers.

Free from the burden of the CM's chair, Arvind Kejriwal now seems to be in a hurry to reach out to a wider pan India audience. Post his resignation, he has already starred in (pun intended) two prominent interviews by two top journalists of India, Barkha Dutt and Rajdeep Sardesai, both incessantly promoting those interviews on Twitter ensuing loads of free publicity. Kejriwal cleverly seems to avoid Times Now though. And the best part, all the uncomfortable questions that people had for him, he let Barkha and Rajdeep ask on their shows and answered them without fear. Whether the answers were convincing or not, his conviction is all that seems to matter now.

He even did the unthinkable by sharing on Twitter a spoof video song made to ridicule him. The after effects of which are quite hilarious where the guys who made the video, out of utter shock or joy, tweeted that they will now vote for him. One more vote bank captured - the comics on Twitter, a very critical element that shapes public opinion online in a jiffy.

But, the real secret behind Arvind Kejriwal's unstoppable juggernaut is a simple secret ingredient - The Nocebo Mantra or Effect!

Most of you must have heard of the term 'placebo' - an ineffectual/fake medicine that is used to deceive the patient into thinking that it will cure him or her. Almost like magic, and guess what, it actually works many times. It's more or less an instrument of faith.

The Nocebo Effect is the exact opposite of that, where the recipients are told that bad things will happen to them while administering similar ineffective and fake medicines. And guess what, bad things actually happen to them, almost like black magic. It is a medically proven science and the video below will give you a perfect summary of the full impact of the Nocebo Effect. Watch it before you proceed further...


 One does not have to carefully analyze or interpret any of Arvind Kejriwal's speeches or interviews to see where the Nocebo Effect comes into play. He has a clear black and white agenda - "they are bad", no, it is actually…"THEY ARE ALL BAD. I am good, I will clean up the system, you help me in cleaning it up. Who am I? A nobody. An ordinary citizen like you, but they, the politicians...THEY ARE ALL CORRUPT, they are looting our country, sab chor hai, sab brasth hai". These are obvious takeaways from any of his speeches and we don't need rocket science to understand that.

In Arvind Kejriwal's dictionary Mukesh Ambani is running the country and Reliance is looting the nation. Congress and BJP are the Ram Lakhan of corruption. The Delhi LG is an agent of Congress. Dynasty politics is dangerous. Your electricity bills are inflated, don't pay them. Don't do this. Don't do that.

Where is the proof for anything? None at all, at least until now.

Yet, lots of people believe him blindly. Part of the problem lies with the demographic he seems to target the most, the aam aadmis, the rickshawalas, the ones living in the slums, the frustrated middle class, the ones who believe in placebos (promised by earlier governments) and the ones who unknowingly are victims of the Nocebo Effect. Thanks to the huge economic disparity between them and the well to do, the aam aadmi believes he is being deprived and has every right to be anti establishment. And guess what - they are the ones who actually go out and vote.

The day Kejriwal announced his resignation at the AAP party office to a thunderous applause from his supporters, he peddled multiple lies, or one can say he hid the truth effectively. A live television audience was following his every word too. As soon as his speech was over Kiran Bedi who was live on NDTV at that point of time was asked to react - the expression on her face was that of disbelief. All she had to say was:

Who will match Arvind Kejriwal?
Who will tell the citizens of Delhi the truth?

Despite her support for the BJP openly, her anguish over how things were turning out with AAP was very visible. There is no easy way in which one can counter the Nocebo Effect - a lie told a thousand times becomes the truth they say, and AAP is reaping the full advantage of this.

History on the other hand is proving to be the single biggest enemy of both the Congress and the BJP. They have been in power earlier and no matter how much they try, they are the system and Arvind Kejriwal is hell bent on making everyone question the existing status quo. No matter how many big budget advertisement campaigns the Congress runs, or for that matter even if they have done some good work in the last 10 years, they are bound to become the biggest victims of this Nocebo Effect.

BJP also has been criticizing Congress, and vice versa. There is a partial Nocebo Effect in play there too. But when two biggies fight, that is routine. The real drama happens when the newcomer challenges the big guns. And we all know - the underdog usually has our support and more importantly - sympathy, which can translate into votes.

The coming two months will be an acid test for all the parties involved - Congress will be the worst hit by the Nocebo Effect. BJP will try to hold on to the momentum that Narendra Modi has so carefully built, and... 

AAP will continue to be the destructive force whose only agenda right now is to upset the apple cart. 

 Whether we shall have any apples to eat after that is a subject for another day and another blog post.

Till then, cheers!!!
Kartik Dayanand Boddapati

 This post also appeared on 'The Times Of India' website - click here to read the post as well as the passionate reactions the post evoked over there!  



'Mind u Read' on Facebook
Spread the word:


Comments

  1. aapkejriwalFeb 17, 2014, 9:02:00 AM

    First list of AAP candidates for Lok Sabha Election at http://www.arvindkejriwal.co.in

    ReplyDelete
  2. shelley k dasFeb 17, 2014, 2:52:00 PM

    Can d author put out d value of his reliance shares?

    ReplyDelete
  3. anonFeb 17, 2014, 3:51:00 PM

    He is going to be the next CEO of Reliance. Do you mind ?


    If anybody don't support you idea of rebellion and dharna, then he must be an agent of thugs. BTW, Your biggest enemy is now Modi, so please go and fight him. Iff you dare.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ramanFeb 17, 2014, 5:22:00 PM

    Wow it was really something... it totally blew me..

    but one thing I want to ask is we all know how our system is now days, whom will you blame for it.

    And what if he (ak) really want to change the system for the good...!

    And as a voter whom do you choose an uderdog or ?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Vedic HinduFeb 17, 2014, 9:18:00 PM

    a FACT and no Nocebo that India is a 3rd world with worlds highest malnutrition and Corruption is there. To liken this to Nocebo Effect is very laughable and to let the culprits escape. - Swami Radhanathananda via FB

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kartik DayanandFeb 17, 2014, 10:15:00 PM

    No one disputes that India has problems, but what is the right way forward is the bigger question. Progress by constructive development or by witch hunting, what would you choose?

    ReplyDelete
  7. NitinFeb 17, 2014, 10:28:00 PM

    Irrespective of the effects,one undeniable fact is that Kejriwal has changed the way politics is run in this country. He has brought in a certain amount of fear in the political circles about brazen corruption. He needs to be lauded for that. But,the problem arises when such a man gets into a self righteous mode and bashes up everyone else. The need of the hour for the country is good governance which would give good impetus for progress. The success of the AAP is important for Indian democracy and if only they set their methods right can they hope to fulfil the aspirations and gigantic hopes that so many people have placed on them. A good post,once again from your end!

    ReplyDelete
  8. ankitFeb 18, 2014, 12:54:00 AM

    In case , there aint any corruption. Y , vote for "congress" mukht bharat ??. Infact this statement clearly means " all congressmen" are corrupt rather than kejriwal views. , kejriwal alws said , there are good people everywhere , bt d top leaders/system have gone brazen. All poll khols were done by reasonable enough backing , like " Robert Vadra" ( The hindu ) , Nitin gadkari ( Enough media claims , aftr wards also ) & so on. Not jus opinion based , like some criticise him for 'mis-governance". The very fact that , 20000 came out in darbar shows d effectiveness of previous leaders & principal oppositions.

    I don't need " AAP" to be perfect. they are bttr than " congress/bjp" anyday. thats more than enuf 2 be in power.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Let me know what you think of this post

Trending posts this week

The Misunderstood Animal: Why Ranvijay Singh Balbir is a Feminist

By
Image
In this age of short attention spans Sandeep Reddy Vanga has done the unthinkable with his latest film Animal—he has not only managed to hold our attention in the theatres with a film that’s three hours twenty one minutes long, but also managed to sustain that attention by turning the movie into a topic of intense debate that’s still going on.   Like everyone else I have an opinion too, rather opinions, and have been tweeting intermittently about them, but the film’s success as well as the criticism it has been receiving calls for deeper introspection.   Through this post I hope to touch upon some of the aspects that I found interesting about the film; both good and bad.   In the process I’ll also try and explain why I feel Ranbir Kapoor’s character in the film Ranvijay Singh Balbir is a feminist and not a misogynist. I suspect many others feel that way too but don’t realise it yet or are able to say it out loudly. Hear me out and then you can either agree or disagree wit...
Read more...

The Age of Bhakti: A Prescription for Disaster!

By
Image
There’s one question on a lot of people’s minds these days: "Is the colossal mismanagement of India’s Covid-19 crisis going to dent Narendra Modi’s image…will his blind followers finally open their eyes?"   The short answer is: NO .   The long answer is complicated.   I said in an earlier blogpost that there are only two kinds of people in this world – those who love Modi, and those who hate him; there’s no one in the middle.   Back then I spoke briefly about those who love him unconditionally despite his many failings. I didn’t shy away from calling them Bhakts. That was more in the context of their anger against the Congress party. There are many other reasons too, but in this post, I am going to focus on what I think is the single biggest subconscious reason why someone turns into a Bhakt.   And mind you, I am not using the word Bhakt in a frivolous manner. I am treating this matter with utmost seriousness. I am intrigued by their condition, and you’ll know...
Read more...

Missing the asli swaad of the original Cadbury Dairy Milk ad

By
Image
Everyone’s been going gaga over the new Cadbury Dairy Milk ad — a faithful recreation of its own iconic asli swaad zindagi ka ad from 1993.   The original ad evokes a lot of nostalgia for many of us and this re-creation milks that emotion very well. The twist with the gender reversal is the key point that made everyone fall in love with it.   I however feel there is one critical aspect of the original that the new one completely misses.   Before I speak about it, let’s see what the new ad does.   Here goes…
Read more...

Why BJP will never accept that CAA NRC protests are real

By
Image
This blogpost is available as a video on YouTube as well as Facebook . It's my  first attempt at video blogging.  You prefer reading it the usual way; then here it is: Someone wrote to me recently on Twitter, saying he enjoys all my tweets there except for when I criticize Narendra Modi. His Blood Pressure goes up it seems. We both laughed…but I also realized that it’s not just his problem. I get pissed off too, when I see people blindly defending some dumb action of the government. Is it safe to say we both are in the same boat? Maybe – maybe not. It depends on whether we are looking at events in isolation or looking at the big picture. The CAA and NRC debate is a classic example of the same. Most sensible people could put 2 and 2 together and see what this combo could do, and they protested. Whereas others chose to only look at the narrow picture – a part of the issue – and they continue to ask - how does CAA affect any Indian? It is only for refugees of 3 c...
Read more...

The Scarcity Mindset: Reclaiming the value of our time

By
Image
They say every unpleasant situation also has a positive side to it. It ends up teaching us new lessons. Like a silver lining for a cloud. In the same manner, I learnt an interesting lesson recently. I call my lesson ‘The Scarcity Mindset’ . It’s a key ingredient of our being and something we seem to have totally forgotten when it concerns our online personas. This post is my tiny attempt to share what I learnt. I hope you see value in it too. Here’s my story.
Read more...

Republic of Akhanda: Where fiction gets real!

By
Image
In early 2021 I wrote a blogpost called “The Age of Bhakti” . The summary or core theme of the post was this: When society and its institutions fail...we have no other option but to depend on the divine.   The recent Telugu blockbuster ‘Akhanda’ is a manifestation of the same concept in an over-the-top commercial format.   Most movies operate in the first part of the summary I shared — where society’s institutions fail and a do-gooder hero who is usually above the law of the land comes in to fix things.   In the process our heroes even break the laws of physics as if it is their birthright, and we accept it without questioning or wondering how such things are possible. The whole act of watching movies is a process of suspension of disbelief.   The legendary actor Balakrishna is known to do these gravity and logic defying acts in the most convincing manner and his two previous collaborations with the director Boyapati Srinu have been huge blockbusters at the box offic...
Read more...

K.G.F vs K.G.F: Why I like Chapter 1 better than Chapter 2

By
Image
If ever there is a competition to determine who is the biggest fan of K.G.F Chapter 1, I would either win that contest hands down or end up as one of the strongest contenders.   I lost count of the number of times I watched that film, but I am sure it will be over 100 times. As a keen observer of films, and how they work on our psyche, I’ve been fascinated by the appeal of this film. So much so that I’ve started writing a book about it. It’s the second book in my upcoming book series ‘Movies Beyond Stars’ .   As a natural outcome of my fascination for K.G.F Chapter 1, I turned into the unofficial cheerleader of K.G.F Chapter 2 on Twitter.  For a few years now I have been repeatedly saying that Chapter 2 had the best chances of success as a pan-India film compared to all other films, even above RRR.   So, when the big day arrived, I was not surprised to see the outcome - the record breaking collections of Chapter 2.   I went ahead and watched the film too.  ...
Read more...

Artificial Intelligence vs Authentic Intelligence: The moral battle of the future

By
Image
We have been reading many stories about Artificial Intelligence (AI), especially since the emergence of ChatGPT—a generative AI tool that possesses immense human-like powers to consume and create content on the fly.   They say only those who embrace AI will thrive in the future, and that it will replace most jobs that humans can do today. There are others, like Elon Musk, who say this AI technology has the potential to go rogue and it needs to be regulated before it’s too late.   Whatever the verdict on that, and whether people choose to use these AI tools or not, one thing is for sure:   AI is going to impact all our lives at a very fundamental human level, and there’s no escaping that.   To illustrate my point, I would like to share three mini stories that I encountered recently.   These are simple stories; not about the wonderful things AI can do for us; but about our reaction to that as humans—leading to the discussion about the battle we all will find ourse...
Read more...