THE BHARAT JODO Yatra has been an underlying constant in the politics of the country over the past few months. It has simmered under the surface since September 7, 2022, when former Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his fellow Bharat yatris began their long march from Kanyakumari, India’s southern tip. Now, as the yatra nears its culmination in Srinagar, it is building to a crescendo. Surrounding the build-up to the finale are questions on how much of the intended purpose, stated and unstated, has been achieved.
The biggest takeaway for the Congress has been the impact that the endeavour has had on Rahul’s image. The party and Rahul himself insist that the BJP has made strenuous efforts and spent vast sums of money trying to reinforce the Congress leader’s ‘Pappu’ image. At his news conferences, Rahul has claimed that the BJP has spent around Rs5,000-Rs6,000 crore, or may be more, to mar his image.
Also, the yatra has taken place at a time when questions were being asked both within and outside the Congress about Rahul’s leadership. It is felt that Rahul’s effort of having trudged more than 3,000km over the last few months in solidarity with people’s issues has made people look at him differently.
The very fact that Rahul has stuck to the mission of walking the distance has, according to party leaders, gone a long way in demolishing his critics’ attacks on him with regard to his perceived lack of seriousness about politics. His interactions with the people during the yatra have been an effort at showcasing him as a leader who is empathetic to the issues of the people. Rahul has described the yatra as tapasya (penance) and said that the physical rigour of the long march has helped him better understand the problems of the people. His overgrown salt-and-pepper beard and his insistence on continuing to wear his yatra attire of T-shirt and track pants even in the cold climes of north India―he claims he has so far not felt the need to wear woollens―are seen as strengthening his image as a selfless leader who is not concerned about his own comfort, as opposed to the image of being an entitled dynast.
Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who is among Rahul’s fellow yatris, said it was wrong to say the yatra had improved Rahul’s image. “It has in fact brought to the fore the real Rahul Gandhi and allowed people to see what he really is―a leader who is empathetic and caring,” he said.
The party is happy with the buzz that Rahul has generated. According to a party leader, the relentless attacks of the BJP on Rahul and the yatra―be it with regard to his clothes or the people he has met or the nature of the containers in which the yatris have retired for the day or the alleged security breach by Rahul―only show that the yatra is having an impact.
Senior Congress leader Rajani Patil, who is AICC in-charge of party affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, spoke about the numerous questions that she has been bombarded with in her recent interactions with women’s groups in her home state, Maharashtra. “They want to talk to me about Rahul Gandhi ji only,” she said. “They ask me how he is managing to walk for so long and how does he keep so fit. All this shows that people are now looking at him in a different light.”
Another major takeaway for the Congress is the articulation of the party’s ideology in contrast to that of the ruling dispensation, as has been outlined by Rahul during the yatra. It is about inclusivity, resisting divisive forces and non-tolerance of all kinds of communal extremism. Rahul has been steadfast in his opposition to the right-wing politics represented by the RSS-BJP. However, a reset of the ideological compass of the Congress is not going to be easy with leaders not comfortable with the immediate political costs of a secular agenda as articulated by Rahul, as was reflected in the furore over Rahul’s comments about V.D. Savarkar as the yatra passed through Maharashtra. Also, it was amid the yatra that veteran Congress leader A.K. Antony initiated a debate with his comments that ignoring Hindus in a bid to neutralise attacks of indulging in soft hindutva will only help Prime Minister Narendra Modi retain power in New Delhi.
The yatra has repeatedly focused on bread-and-butter issues such as unemployment and price rise and the articulation on economic issues is headlined by the party’s opposition to crony capitalism, thus setting the agenda for the party with regard to the economy. On foreign policy, Rahul has repeatedly attacked the Modi dispensation for weakening India’s stance with regard to disputes with China.
The messaging of the yatra, according to Congress leaders, has resonated with the people. “The yatra is a significant milestone for the Congress party,” said K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary (organisation). “The participation of people has far surpassed our expectations. Around 70 per cent of the people who participated in the yatra are less than 35 years old. Young India has supported the yatra. And so have women, farmers, small traders and people from all walks of life.”
As for the impact on the Congress, leaders say a programme of this nature was bound to bring feet on the ground and re-energise the party and its workers. For example, in Maharashtra, a senior leader believes that the Congress now has a spring in its step and is “back in the reckoning”. However, a recurring question through the course of the yatra has been whether it will help the Congress win elections.
There are doubts over whether the turnout witnessed in Rajasthan will translate into a win for the party in the assembly elections scheduled for late 2023. The state has a record of voting out the incumbent and the local party unit is riddled with the intense factional fight between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot.
The party has distanced the walkathon from any electoral motives. Rahul himself has insisted that the yatra does not have an electoral purpose and that it has a larger goal―undoing the damage done by politics of division. However, the Congress has pinned hopes on the yatra to improve its political standing in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, though there has been a mixed response from opposition parties.
“Every programme conducted by a party has an impact,” said Venugopal. “And this is the biggest programme of its kind conducted by a political party. Its motive was never to make an electoral impact. However, it is natural that the party will benefit from the yatra, electorally, too.” While the yatra has helped Rahul salvage his image, it will be a long haul before the party benefits from it.
INTENSE EXERCISE
STATISTICS FROM THE BHARAT JODO YATRA
3,122km
Distance covered till Dec 24 (108 days)
49
Districts covered in nine states and one Union territory till
Jan 3
87
Sitting interactions with various groups of people
200
Planned walks with smaller groups, including activists, celebrities, opposition leaders and local people
95
Corner meetings
10
Large public meetings