Dainik Bhaskar's Jaipur edition dated 20 November featured 'Rajasthan me Congress ki lahar' (Congress wave in Rajasthan) as its main headline just below the daily's title, a mere five days ahead of the assembly elections scheduled for 25 November.
However, it had 'impact feature' written in a small font in the corner. Impact feature is a terminology used by media houses to showcase sponsored news, without making it look like an advertisement upfront.
Responding to this, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted on X, "What is IMPACT FEATURE? A desperate Congress is now resorting to obfuscation and blatant violation of poll guidelines. Trying to pass off an ad as opinion of the newspaper."
He also targeted the Hindi daily saying, "But what is Dainik Bhaskar’s compulsion to oblige?" to Congress and expressed hope that "people of Rajasthan will slap the Congress out of power."
Notably, politically aware people have often accused Dainik Bhaskar of favouring Congress. The Hindi daily had also faced Income Tax raids earlier.
Comments ↓
An Appeal...
Dear Reader,
As you are no doubt aware, Swarajya is a media product that is directly dependent on support from its readers in the form of subscriptions. We do not have the muscle and backing of a large media conglomerate nor are we playing for the large advertisement sweep-stake.
Our business model is you and your subscription. And in challenging times like these, we need your support now more than ever.
We deliver over 10 - 15 high quality articles with expert insights and views. From 7AM in the morning to 10PM late night we operate to ensure you, the reader, get to see what is just right.
Becoming a Patron or a subscriber for as little as Rs 1200/year is the best way you can support our efforts.