Keeping ears to the ground, Bharat Jodo Yatra sets foot on hundredth day

The Yatra, planned to pass through 12 states and 2 union territories over the course of five months, began with the Wayanad MP paying his respects at the memorial of his father and former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur.

Since the start of the Yatra, the Congress leader’s various activities have been making it to social media — his Mysuru rally amid massive rains, snake boat race in Kerala, interaction with young Kerala girls over the South Korean band BTS , tying his mother Sonia Gandhi’s shoelace and many others.

Tamil Nadu

The Padayatra was kickstarted in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, on September 7, with Chief Minister M K Stalin handing over the Tricolour to Gandhi. Senior Congress leaders, including like K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Digvijay Singh, Bhupesh Baghel, and Ashok Gehlot attended the launching ceremony.

Few days into the Yatra, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took a jibe at the Congress, asking Rahul Gandhi to get his vehicles’ tanks filled in BJP-ruled states to save money.

The walk stayed in Tamil Nadu for 4 days before moving on to Kerala. It re-entered Tamil Nadu, after covering Kerala for a day before entering Karnataka.

Kerala

Senior Congress leader and MP Shashi Tharoor welcomed the Gandhi and his supporters when the Bharat Jodo Yatra entered Kerala on the evening of September 10. Although the Yatra gathered huge support in the state, the Congress drew flak when the picture of V D Savarkar was carried on one of the posters of the Yatra in Ernakulam district. Party workers tried making up by covering Savarkar’s picture with Mahatma Gandhi’s, but the damage had already been done.

Karnataka

After spending 18 days in Kerala, Rahul’s Yatra entered Karnataka on September 29. This leg drew specific attention from the media as the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi joined the Yatra. Although she was there for only the first phase of the Yatra’s seventh day in the state, a huge crowd swarmed the streets to watch her.

The Yatra was also joined by the mother and sister of journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was assassinated on September 5, 2017. Rahul extended his support to the slain journalist and her family.

Andhra Pradesh

After Karnataka, the Yatra entered a brief Andhra leg on October 18. This leg was particularly important since Andhra Pradesh has not produced any Congress MLA or MP since 2014. The party has significantly lost its ground to YSRCP in the state after the bifurcation of the state.

Telangana

On the 48th day, Rahul Gandhi led his supporters into Telangana, where the Yatra entered through Gudeballur in Mahabubnagar district on October 23. Here, the walk traversed through 19 assembly segments and seven parliamentary constituencies.

On the 55th day, the Yatra made its way into the capital city of Hyderabad where it was joined by the mother of Dalit activist Rohith Vemula. The activist’s death by suicide in 2016 had triggered nationwide protests; Rahul had visited University of Hyderabad campus to join the protests. He later tweeted that the meeting filled him with newfound courage.

Maharashtra

The Yatra attracted a fancy welcome from the state unit as it entered Maharashtra on the night of November 7. This leg started off from the district of Nanded. Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil, party MP Supriya Sule and former minister Jitendra Awhad walked with the leader and attended a grand rally in Nanded city. The coming of leaders from both NCP and Shiv Sena symbolized the strength of the unusual alliance of Maha Vikas Agadhi (MVA). Although Rahul’s pointed attack on the Hindutva ideologue of Savarkar did make the Shiv Sena a little uncomfortable, the controversy was handled smartly by former union minister Jairam Ramesh, who said both parties agree to disagree on certain issues.

Discussions on Maharashtra’s cooperative movement, Ambedkarite movement, issues of OBCs, youth, tribals and women were held with Rahul during the Yatra. Social activist Medha Patkar, who walked with Rahul, said the ruling BJP has closed dialogue with those who hold a different point of view than theirs. “We have differences with the Congress, but the party is ready to talk on those, engage us. This yatra is for constitutional values and that’s why I have joined,” she said. 

Madhya Pradesh

The Yatra entered the Hindi heartland of the country on November 23. In the Madhya Pradesh leg, Rahul was joined by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in Burhanpur district. Priyanka was accompanied by her husband Robert and son Raihan. The state was pivotal for Congress since it was a BJP-ruled state where it recently lost its stalwart leader Jyotiraditya Scindia and a sitting government.

Congress was at the centre of a major controversy when the BJP alleged that pro-Pakistan slogans were raised at a Yatra rally. The Congress called the video clip shared by the BJP “doctored” and threatened legal action against those trying to “defame” the Yatra.

Rajasthan

Bharat Jodo Yatra entered its Rajasthan leg on 4th December. The earliest visuals that emerged from the leg were those of Gandhi shaking a leg with the folk artists along with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, and party leaders Sachin Pilot, Kamal Nath, and Pradesh Congress Committee chief Govind Singh Dotasra.

The Yatra comes at a crucial stage since the state will go to elections next year amidst the political tussle between CM Gehlot and Pilot. The event would test the truce established between the two. The participation of former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in the Yatra in the state made headlines. The BJP took a dig at Rajan by commenting that he fancies himself as the next Manmohan Singh.

The future course

The Bharat Jodo Yatra is expected to go on as it travels the state of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab only to culminate in Jammu and Kashmir.  This is being seen as a massive step to not only establish Congress as a viable option to the BJP in the 2024 Assembly elections but also to revamp the image of Rahul Gandhi. The Grand Old Party also plans to hold such Yatras from the Eastern to the Western corners of the country along with several state versions.

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