On Thursday, the Times of India newspaper, instead of the news on page 1 and 2, had full-page advertisements of the Uttar Pradesh government. Photos of Prime Minister Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were splashed on the top half of the front page, across all editions. The advertisements praised Adityanath-led UP government’s handling of the pandemic, calling it a ‘hit’. The ads also hailed the UP government’s efforts towards vaccination.
Featured below the large photos of Yogi Adityanath and PM Modi were their quotes. The advertisement for the state’s ‘Teeka Jeeth Ka’ campaign, also had information for the public about 5 steps to defeat COVID-19 along with the steps that people need to take to avoid contracting the Coronavirus. At the bottom of the front page, it was mentioned that the campaign in Uttar Pradesh was a joint initiative of the Times of India and the state government.
These advertisements come at a time when, according to the official state bulletin on June 16, the state has 7221 active cases. Data from the Co-WIN dashboard shows that Uttar Pradesh has only fully vaccinated 1.67% of the total population and partially vaccinated 6.9%. The state’s vaccination coverage is much below the national average and is among one of the lowest in the country.
The ads continued onto the second page too where the mast head on page 2 read, “UP Fights Corona ''. The sub heading claimed, “Yogi govt’s multi-pronged strategy bears results.” Interestingly, the various columns, as part of the advertisement, were in the usual news format- with separate headlines, body and images too- just like any other page in the newspaper. The headline of the main story on page 2 read, “State’s pandemic control model a hit”.
The second page had Yogi Adityanath’s image featured four times, in varying sizes, while PM Modi’s picture featured twice. One of the many articles on page 2 highlighted the ‘Mission June’ initiative of the UP government to ensure maximum vaccination. The article claimed that the vaccination drive was in full-swing in the Hindi heartland.
Uttar Pradesh presently has a night curfew in place from 9 pm to 7 am. In the last COVID-19 review meeting held by the Chief Minister, it was decided to allow restaurants and malls to operate with 50% capacity. Parks and street food kiosks have also been granted permission.