The Congress party has been in the headlines in the country for the past five months, especially after a mixed bag of Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh. The party ex-President Rahul Gandhi undertook a massive Kanyakumari-Kashmir 4000 km foot yatra. It was called Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY) which meant a journey to unite the country. On 30th January, the yatra ended in Lal Chowk, Srinagar, It was deemed as a massive makeover for the party. Beyond BJY, Congress was in the headlines for both right and wrong reasons. It has been a long time since such massive-scale political yatras happened in the country. This time it was with a lot of publicity, the use of technology and a lot of spending. Hence BJY does deserve a space to be discussed.
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In the article, we will discuss the hits and misses of the same and also look at the nuances of the same in the larger Indian political context ahead of the most important year for the Congress ie. 2023 which will see a lot of important state elections, where Congress is directly confronting the BJP. Similarly, 2013 marks the beginning of the decline of Congress and in 2022, BJP was at its closest to its dream of realising a Congress mukt Bharat.
Hits of Bharat Jodo Yatra
Reviving the party- The yatra was mainly held as per the organisers and was aimed at energising the members and reviving the party, which meant there is an acceptance of the fact that since 2013 onwards, the party was losing its foothold in the country. By 2014, the party was decimated at the national level and since then uprooted from several states which used to be Congress bastions. The Yatra was hence successful in still keeping up the Congress spirit.
Relevance of the party- The party was seeing its irrelevance since 2014 and was nearing its death by 2022. The Yatra's popularity and media coverage kept the narrative and the soul of the party alive and saved it from death. Another reason why the party's relevance has increased is due to the yatra being a venue for eminent personalities and opposition allies which makes Congress's role at the national level still relevant.
Party Structure and cadre- Since 2012, the Congress party has been facing successive defeats thus enabling bickering of its cadre and support base. This in turn weakened the party structure and forced people to leave the party. Congress also lost a foothold in several of its earlier strongholds. The BJY has revived the party support at least in those areas which are covered by the yatra making sure that energy is still there in the ordinary Congress worker.
Acceptance of Rahul Gandhi- Starting from 2014 when Rahul Gandhi was unofficially challenging PM Modi, there were doubts raised by people against his experience and quality. This was quite evident from the Times Now Interview with Arnab Goswami. His refusal to take up responsibilities in the party as well as in any ministries of UPA 1 and 2 hit him very hard in 2014 and 2019. With the recent yatra, he has gone to the field, walked every day and still was able to tick on till the end and energise the party which has gained him a lot of legitimacy.
Presence of Celebrities and Eminent personalities- The entire span of the yatra saw multiple personalities and stars from various walks of life participating in the same, enhancing the visibility of the yatra as such giving it more credibility.
An Alternate Narrative- BJY was modelled on uniting which very well took over the BJP's narrative thus making at least people feel that there is some substance here. Even BJP was forced to acknowledge this massive yatra and still perceived the challenge. Also, the message was reaching people and the TV visuals are self-explanatory for this.
Media attention- Unlike the Govt, in the last decade Congress received less attention compared to Modi's BJP and also even much of that attention was negative and pessimistic. This time the yatra was widely covered including the celebrity presence and a lot more.
Covered Key Election states of 2023- The BJY was able to travel to many big states which will face elections and where Congress still has the ability to give a tight fight. These include Karnataka, MP, Rajasthan, Telangana etc.
Grey Areas- Both hits and misses yet inconclusive
A united opposition?- While BJY saw many opposition leaders coming in support, an equal number also wasn't ready to extend support to Rahul Gandhi and Congress raising questions on opposition unity. Failure to get Left front, TMC, BRS, TDP, JDS etc. is a massive blow in defeating BJP in the South and East coast states.
Why Rahul Gandhi?- There is no clear-cut reason why Rahul Gandhi was the person leading the yatra. Whether Rahul Gandhi is trying to make a comeback or not or it is the fact that he is still the default option is still not clear. If yes then why he is not in the leadership post. Chidambaram said to the media, irrespective of who the party president is, the face of the party is Rahul Gandhi. BJY ideally should have been led by the Congress president. He himself saying that old Rahul Gandhi is dead may not be beneficial.
Misses of Bharat Jodo Yatra
Is the party really united?- There are still questions raised on whether the party is united or not. There is infighting within the party, even in the state of Kerala where Congress has a structure and BJY spent a significant number of days. Similarly, there are leaders who left the party despite all the pomp of Yatra; Gulab Nabi Azad left, 14 MLAs of Goa left, Amarinder Singh has joined BJP, Pilot will not get what he has deserved, MLAs can threaten to resign and leave the party. In upcoming elections, in the state of Karnataka Siddharamiah fighting with D K Shivakumar; In Rajasthan, Gehlot is not giving space for Pilot. Senior leaders in response said- Those who want to leave can leave. This is not going to help it electorally which is the core function of a political party.
Wrong Timing- Amidst BJY, two state elections took place and the presidential election also happened. Similarly, Congress also lost track of various political stories. The presidential election events also hampered a lot of positive coverage and outlook of the yatra.
Missed States- The yatra is spending more time in strong Congress states like Kerala, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and MP while ignoring the rest. Even in Tamil Nadu, it has done only minimal effort. Yatra was also not helpful in strengthening Congress in the states it was never present.
BJY is not for election- This was the argument of each and every leader/spokesperson when asked about it. Gujarat is a very important state for Congress primarily because it is one of the states where it has got a committed vote share. The primary function of a political party is to raise people's issues, contest elections and form the government. If a party is not even able to be the principal contender then why is it uniting the country? Why do you blame the BJP? There was a lot of rhetoric aimed at the BJP and Modi which indicated the political. Hence why is the party afraid of claiming that BJY is for elections as it already covers a lot of states which are going for polls.
The claim of a New Rahul Gandhi- "The old Rahul Gandhi is dead" is a clear indicator of the fact that he has changed which means, Congress is trying to revoke the earlier image of Rahul Gandhi which contradicts their own view that this yatra is not about him and not for the rebranding of his image. This also acknowledges the existence of another Rahul Gandhi which they tried to hide for a very long time.
Failure to make a grand alliance- The Yatra could have been a space for united opposition with a Congress-led alliance or any formal announcement of the same. Rather there was nothing substantial in the same. The Grand Old Party hence is not working for long-term political planning and is merely doing things for immediate gains.
What after this yatra?- There is no clarity on what exactly will happen after this yatra. There are important elections coming up but there is no proper mechanism in place for how the party will go ahead fighting them. Whether the actions have been taken either at the national or state level for the same is not clear and it hasn't yet reached the people.
What is the key message or narrative?- Even today there lacks an effective message or slogan or narrative which can rally people behind the party. Without it, is impossible for it to pander to people and garner their support. Hence, Bharat Jodo Yatra was not conclusive in getting ideas across the board to the people.
What is the long-term strategy?- Till now the Grand Old Party has not unveiled its grand strategy to counter the Teflon-coated PM, Modi. The elections to several states are here, similarly, 2024 will witness the Lok Sabha elections, again where there needs a strong challenge against the BJP juggernaut. All this is still lacking. Perhaps Congress has not learnt its lessons after two elections. There is no plan, no strategy and the party is heavily disconnected from the ground largely in key states.
Conclusion
The yatra might have been a success but it won't last long if it doesn't achieve the objectives and aspirations of an ordinary party worker. Yatra had a lot of positives as well as massive blunders. It is good that Congress has acknowledged its mistakes of the past, but it is still hesitant to understand the challenge and work accordingly. More Congress waits to change, it becomes hard to change and will lose popular support beyond repair.
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Congress cannot wait for the magic to happen. Yatra is in the right direction but the Presidential election, if it was made properly would have benefited. The only way in which Congress can come back to life is by following the steps mentioned in our previous article.
Mistakes Made by Congress Party
A strong Opposition is a key to Strong Democracy.
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