In pricier December edition, Panchjanya carries 19 pages of BJP govt ads

The December edition of the RSS-affiliated magazine Panchjanya was sold at a higher price but had 22 pages of advertisements﹘most from BJP governments.

The 52-page edition carried thirteen pages of ads from the N Biren Singh-led BJP government in Manipur and six on the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh.

Calling it an “impact feature”, pages 22 to 27 of the edition praised the Adityanath government. The next 13 pages published write-ups on development in Manipur with the headline “Transforming Manipur” and a subhead on the “inclusive development under BJP-lead government”.

Till September, the magazine was priced at Rs 30 but the December edition was sold for Rs 50﹘the price has gone up while the volume of news has been trimmed with nearly half the pages carrying advertisements.

In an editorial marking seven years of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the centre in May, Panchjanya editor Hitesh Shankar wrote, “The Modi government has been faring well. However, on the publicity side of things, it tends to be softer. Some people might find it odd that the Modi government lags behind when it comes to publicity and marketing, but this is the harsh reality.”

In its first tenure, the Modi government had spent around Rs 5,909 crore on advertisements, according to a response to an RTI query.