For much of his career, Arnab Goswami of Republic TV has been widely perceived as a journalist supportive of the BJP and sharply critical of opposition parties, particularly the Congress party.
However, his recent attacks targeting the Central government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on issues such as handling of IndiGo Airline crisis, environmental degradation in the Aravalli hills, and Delhi’s pollution crisis have triggered intense debate in political and media circles.
According to political analysts and social media reports, this shift is being interpreted not as a sudden ideological break, but as a calculated strategy by Arnab Goswami.
A political analyst said Arnab Goswami’s recent criticism is largely issue-based, focusing on matters that directly impact public life, such as inconvenience to airline passengers and environmental destruction.
His talk that “the people are the real opposition” is an attempt to reclaim his earlier “people’s journalist” image, he said.
Another analyst says it could also be part of Arnab’s credibility management to get rid of “Godi media” tag, and ahead of future electoral cycles, particularly 2029, he may be attempting to reinforce Republic TV’s credibility by projecting editorial independence.
“Another reason could be that the BJP leadership was deliberately keeping Arnab at bay, as he might be trying to blackmail the leadership. He might be losing his influence in the saffron party due to changes in Delhi’s media-management policy,” another analyst said.
However, Arnab has been refraining from making any political attacks on the BJP, but is strategically targeting systemic failures, bureaucratic lapses, or specific ministries. He is not directly challenging Narendra Modi or BJP ideology.
“This is nothing but creating an impression among the people that Republic TV is a neutral media, rather than a pro-BJP media outfit. Its selective criticism is aimed at creating an illusion of neutrality while preserving core political alignments,” the analysts said.
