With the polling dates for Assembly Elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh being announced, the poll campaigns by the major parties are gathering momentum. As the states prepare for these Elections, News18 India and CNN-News18 have lined up an unmatched array of programming bringing the most exhaustive coverage of the most crucial political fight of the year.
Under the branding ‘Sabse Bada Dangal’, News18 India will telecast poll of polls, extensive coverage on polling days and counting day along with a multitude of special shows– Aaj ki Hulchul, a daily election bulletin; Bhaiyaji Kahin, an on-ground show that will provide a platform to voters to interact with their local leaders/candidates at a constituency level; special episodes of Lapete Mein Netaji, a weekly ‘hasya kavi sammelan’ with renowned and contemporary Hindi satirists and poets capturing the twists and turns of the electoral dangal in a unique way; Cover Story where the channel’s journalists will focus on prominent leaders as they go about campaigning in the poll bound states and Audience Based Debates which will have national and regional leaders discussing state level issues and earlier promises made by political parties that are now driving voter preference.
Battle for the States, the programming line-up on CNN-News18 will comprise of Poll of Polls, Polling Day and Counting Day coverage, audience-based shows, travelogues, documentaries and newsmaker interviews that will give the viewer a 360 degree view of the elections. While ‘Battle For The States’ will be a daily half-hour bulletin that will have stories and latest updates on the elections, the channel will also telecast special series like Reporters Project where a team of top journalists will traverse the length and breadth of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh to assess the ground realities, major issues and voter sentiment ahead of the Elections. CNN-News18 will also host a series of special shows from Ground Zero in the two states. There will also be a special audience-based show on Gujarat featuring senior local and national leaders debating pertinent election related issues.
Leading the coverage on News18 India will be the channel’s Deputy Managing Editors – Kishore Ajwani and Sumit Awasthi who will be joined by renowned experts like Ram Kripal Singh and Shesh Narayan Singh. On CNN-News18, Executive Editor Bhupendra Chaubey along with Deputy Executive Editor Zakka Jacob will also be joined by a panel of prominent journalists and political analysts like Swapan Dasgupta, Ajoy Bose, Vir Sanghvi amongst others to bring the most detailed analysis of the assembly elections.
Continuing their legacy of consistently bringing the most insightful content around elections, the channels’ programming comprises of special programming right through from campaigning up to the counting day and government formation. Catch all the action around these crucial assembly elections on News18 India and CNN-News18, all through November and December.