The vibes the Bharat Nyay Jodo Yatra of former Congress president Rahul Gandhi have created appear to have taken a positive turn with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav joining it in its Uttar Pradesh leg. Mr Yadav had made his joining conditional, linking it to the successful negotiation for seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The two parties agreed on a pact, and hence the bonhomie.
The Yatra had run into trouble in its early phase itself with Trinamul Congress, a key ally of the Congress in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, refusing to facilitate it in West Bengal where it runs the state government, leave alone Ms Mamata Banerjee, its leader, joining it. The unilateral announcement by the Trinamul that it was able to spare only two seats for the Congress had practically ended the scope of the alliance in the state, given that the Congress had won as many seats in the state going solo last time around.
Mr Yadav’s conciliatory approach comes at a time when I.N.D.I.A. bloc was facing an existential threat. The Congress’ preoccupation with the state assembly elections held in October and November and its ignoring the very cause for which the Opposition bloc was formed had created a lot of bad blood within the formation. Nitish Kumar, one of the principal actors behind the alliance, even quit it, leaving a question mark on its very survival.
The sense of purpose demonstrated by the Yadav leaders — RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and SP’s president — and the quick brokering of an electoral deal between the Aam Admi Party and the Congress in four states have together put the alliance back on track. That the alliance will hold its first public rally, which it was unable to organise despite several attempts in the past, on March 3 in Patna in which senior leaders are expected to be present, must give it the much needed booster dose ahead of the elections. Better late than never.
