His main challenge is to maintain the yatra’s energy level during several upcoming elections.
NEW DELHI: The first phase of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra may have given some hope to the Congress workers, but the big question that still remains is whether this exercise would benefit the party. Congress leaders’ argument that the yatra had nothing to do with vote bank politics is hardly acceptable. The main objective, by all standards, appeared to be regaining the ground that the Congress has lost. The electoral benefit of this yatra would be known later during polls. It has improved the image of Rahul Gandhi. The party workers have been energised. The challenge for Rahul Gandhi is to maintain this energy level during the upcoming several elections. The Haat Jodo campaign is not apparently creating any impact. Rahul will have to take the lead.
Senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge is no doubt the Congress president, but Rahul Gandhi is the real boss. General Secretary in-charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal is next to him. So, these leaders have to prepare a strategy. The plenary to be held at Raipur from 24-26 February would end the uncertainty about organisational change. All eyes would be on whether drastic changes are going to be made, or only a couple of reshuffling would be done.
Sources say Rahul Gandhi wants to conduct the second phase of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. But there are several questions before a final call is taken. Nine states would go to polls this year, and this would be followed by the Lok Sabha election in 2024. So, focusing on yatra is also not advisable at the same time. Secondly, the financial burden is also another issue. It is said that Rs 2 crore was spent every day during the recently concluded yatra. Will the party be able to bear the cost of another yatra and elections as well? The party is already under financial stress. If the yatra does benefit the party in the elections, the challenges would definitely grow. Already, opposition parties did not cooperate with Congress during the first phase. The opposition parties rather tried to isolate the grand old party. Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao has already launched his national party and put in place a third front with the help of AAP, SP and some other regional outfits. BSP is also forming its own alliance with non-Congress and non-BJP parties.
Owaisi’s party has already been harming Congress in state elections. TMC leader Mamata Banerjee has also attempted to float a separate political front. She would hardly cooperate with Congress. So, a multi-corner contest is likely during the next year’s Lok Sabha elections. Several regional parties look to harm Congress where it is in direct contest with BJP. The saffron party would benefit in such a political scenario, as it will pursue the Hindutva agenda. The BJP will be eying to cash in on possible polarisation resulting from the issues related to Hindu and Muslim sections.
Bharat Jodo Yatra’s take-off was perfect. But after reaching Delhi, Rahul Gandhi changed the tack. He started launching aggressive attacks on BJP and Sangh, referring to the issues related to Hindu and Muslim. As a result, issues like unemployment, price rise, corruption, etc. were relegated to the background in the media. Headlines were mostly on communal and religious topics like Ram and Kaurav. Similarly, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sharing light moments also grabbed much media space. The purpose of allowing Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah to join the yatra was also beyond comprehension. Needless to say, the yatra could not remain aloof from politics. For maximum benefit, Rahul Gandhi should have focussed more on unemployment, farmers, price rise, etc. Undoubtedly, Rahul Gandhi would be the key face during the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP is ready with issues like Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir, Ram Temple, etc. which have potential to polarise the voters. All eyes would be on Rahul Gandhi’s next step. The Gandhi scion may term himself as Tapasvi (ascetic), but the party is entirely dependent on him. Credit for victory and blame for defeat would all be Rahul’s. The leaders, who accompanied him during the yatra, would not be answerable.