The Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra being undertaken by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi may be the biggest political activity in the New Year ahead of the general election, except perhaps for the consecration of the Ram temple by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Gandhi started off in Manipur, attacking the “the politics of the BJP-RSS and their hatred”, in an obvious reference to mayhem in the border state that continues unabated. It is important that the principal Opposition party sends out the message that the northeastern states are very much a part of its agenda, and whatever happens there will be communicated to the rest of India.
Unlike the first edition of the the Bharat Jodo Yatra, this expedition will pass predominantly through areas where the Congress conceded space to others and is the third or fourth political force now — the Northeast, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. There is nothing much to write home about the organisational strength of the party at the grassroots level in all these states. However, the INDIA alliance partners hold considerable sway in most of them. The Congress has a chequered relationship with these parties, especially the Trinamul Congress in West Bengal and the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh. The attempt will be to consolidate its sway in the states and to strengthen unity of purpose among alliance partners.
Mr Gandhi had interacted with thousands of people from various walks of life in the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir where they shared with him their idea of an India of the future, what the present Union government does and what their expectations are from the Opposition bloc. A repeat of the same would be happening in the Yatra’s second edition, too. Ideally, it would be best for the Congress and the INDIA alliance to get inputs for their plan and programme with which they can take on the BJP-led NDA in the general elections. How efficiently will the leadership make use of this opportunity remains to be experienced.
