- Rahul Gandhi spiritedly led the Bharat Jodo Yatra organized by the Grand Old Party of India lasting for more than 5 months, traversing 14 states covering a few thousand kilometers that culminated in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk by hoisting the Indian flag. The moot point to ponder over here is whether the yatra undertaken by Congress will yield electoral dividends or for that matter consolidate Congress’s predominant role as the principal opposition party taking on the might of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Also, will Rahul’s march have succeeded enough for the common citizens to consider extending support to the beleaguered Congress battling hard to stay relevant due to the consistent erosion of its base over the years? Only, time will be able to answer the same.
PC: freepik
- However, in the meanwhile, let’s attempt to understand how the yatra’s fruits if any, may pan out in the year before the general elections scheduled in 2024. Of course, it’s hard to judge exactly how much political mileage Rahul Gandhi may have gained. Yes, public attention gained momentum along the way – courtesy of the white T-shirt and the new beard, or his walking more than 20 km a day, listening to umpteen men, women, and children, sharing a warm hug with many, giving several press interviews, or the spirited anti-BJP tirade and the signature speeches. Noticeably, Congress shrunk humiliatingly in Gujarat and even its Himachal respite from 18 losses was too close for comfort during this period.
- Agreed, the yatra has showcased Congress’s organizational skills, both on the ground and in social media despite being interspersed with several foot-in-the-mouth statements. The outreach has branded Rahul with empathetic and collegial gravitas. But so far there is no evidence that this increased soft power of his likeability is matched by increased hard power to win votes at the hustings. That will be tested in the nine state elections lined up this year ahead of the 2023 Lok Sabha elections. The results will clarify whether the yatra has been just a vanity project of the Gandhi family or whether it has spurred a long-awaited revival of Congress. Will the Gandhi scion pass the test with flying colours? Answers will have to wait.
PC: freepik
- Mind you, the party has to hold on to Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, the only two states where it is in government other than Himachal, take advantage of the anti-incumbency in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh and fight oblivion in Telangana. Tall tasks indeed. In other words, the patchwork of citizen discontents that have gotten a sympathetic hearing in the yatra now needs to be woven into tight poll campaigns. Perhaps BJP’s most wounding criticism of the yatra has been that it is directionless. Rahul and Mallikarjun Kharge have their work cut out to disprove this. And that’s something the other opposition parties will also be watching closely ahead of 2024 – 21 of them have been invited to attend a concluding rally of the yatra in Srinagar. The walk is behind but the work has just begun.
