JNU fiasco: How The Telegraph won the plot that Arnab Goswami lost

The Telegraph newspaper, headquartered in Kolkata, is in the news ever since the NDA government's mishandling of the JNU fracas started. The paper is coming up with high-quality headlines [See here] to depict the serious ideological strife which has snowballed in the prestigious institute in the capital this month.

The brains behind that paper have correctly identified the opportunity to deliver, especially ahead of a crucial Assembly election in West Bengal in which there is a big possibility of an unprecedented Left-Congress alliance to take shape.

The ABP Group, which publishes this paper, is known for its left-of-the-centre leanings and its coverage of the JNU issue will certainly shape a lot of popular opinion in favour of a new political alliance in the state and put individual-centric forces like the ruling Trinamool Congress and BJP in a spot of bother.

Does Telegraph do it with same intensity when a non-BJP govt is in power? But anyways, it's headlines are a runaway hit today

Whether the Telegraph does things with same intensity when a Congress-led government at the Centre goofs up can always be given a thought, but as of now, the newspaper is doing the idea of Left-centre tie-up a great favour.

While Telegraph made use of the opportunity softly yet effectively, Arnab Goswami's 'hard' skills backfired

On the other hand, a channel like Times Now has made a blunder by taking a rigid stand which faced a serious lack of credibility as things started turning around. The channel's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami found it a safe bet in escalating the issue of nationalism as that is expected to keep his admirers' heartbeat racing and he had the unfortunate death of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa to support his case while lashing out at protesting students.

The Telegraph set up an agenda for Bengal polls through its catchy headlines

But after Hanumanthappa's funeral and in the wake of police action in the JNU campus that saw the arrest of a democratically elected student leader and the attack on JNU's students and faculty and media personnel at Patiala House court, it all boomeranged and Goswami's channel started facing flak for his handling the matter. Just unlike the Telegraph, which cleverly threw its weight in the direction of the tide, Goswami took a rigid position which found itself against the tide and dented his image in public space.

Goswami, in his over-enthusiasm to prove his love for the nation, ended up on the same side of the political class which he seems to hate and bashes every night.

Thus while The Telegraph clearly knew where the humour lied, Goswami miscalculated in understanding where the danger lied.