Opinion Zoya Hasan writes: With Bharat Jodo Yatra, Congress has dealt a blow in the battle of narratives. But party organisation remains the problem

When the BJY began last year, the Congress had said it was a non-electoral, non-political movement and everyone irrespective of their affiliations and beliefs was welcome. But as the yatra progressed, its overtly political dispatch became clear in transmitting several key messages. It highlighted consistently how the ruling dispensation had damaged the institutional framework of the country, with communal politics and appalling economic inequality crippling it further. It was also able to stress how India’s real strength lay in pluralism and accommodation. The emphasis on unity in diversity and social harmony as an antidote to divisive and majoritarian politics proved to be a big draw. Opinions vary on the long-lasting effects of these emotions and the party’s resurgence riding on them. Nonetheless, several political filaments can be drawn out.

The long march has met with an unexpected public response even in states where Congress is not in power. The conversations, speeches, interviews and press conferences during the yatra underscore the growing challenges of communal disharmony, rising prices and joblessness and the need to speak up against them. This has brought Congress back to the centrestage of Indian politics. This has evoked interest among the people, especially encouraged by the hope that Congress can stand up to the challenges facing the republic and that it is possible to construct a counter-narrative to right-wing hegemony.

Second, as a centrist party, Congress doesn’t have a clear-cut ideology. Like centrist parties elsewhere, it has struggled to articulate its principles in a context fraught with divisions and schisms. In fact, it usually avoids taking positions on Hindu nationalism — the dominant ideology of the current conjuncture. It has steered clear of supposedly controversial issues that have limited ideological purchase in “new India”. The party has tried to address this constraint by its ideological positioning in opposition to the BJP more generally, rather than taking a stand on specific issues. The debate has been broadened by projecting Congress as a party for everyone. In other words, the idea of an umbrella party has been rearticulated to oppose the BJP, and its reshaping of the political discourse in a Hindu idiom. The messaging may have been rudimentary but the yatra did articulate some of the party’s distinctive values and vision in contrast to the BJP.

Third, the Congress leadership has pitched the party as the primary claimant of the anti-BJP space. It has repositioned the Congress as the pivot of any alliance of the opposition parties against the BJP, arguing that it alone has the historical legacy, courage and leadership to take on the right-wing party at the national level, and thus defend India’s democracy.

At a broader level, the public response to the BJY highlights India’s faith in pluralism, apart from the constitutional principles of equality and justice. The message of solidarity and fraternity at a time when communal-majoritarian politics has created ruptures across the country marks a significant disruption of the dominant narrative. It is quite possible that wherever the message of the yatra has reached, it has contributed to a de-escalation of communal tensions. Even if there is a slight shift in communal attitudes, the yatra would’ve achieved some of its objectives.

Rahul Gandhi has taken on the Hindu right and in the process highlighted two visions of India. At the concluding press conference a day before the yatra ended on a high note with swelling crowds amid a snowstorm in Kashmir, he said that the “BJY went from South to North, but it has had a countrywide effect, and asserted that the march gave an alternative vision to the country”. He argued that India now has two paths or ways of living to choose from: “One is out to suppress the voices, spread hatred and violence and the other is to join the hearts. I see this yatra as a first step, which will have an impact on the country’s politics.” These are not new ideas, but rekindle the constitutional vision effectively and underline the severe threats confronting our democracy.

However, the success of the yatra cannot camouflage the numerous problems facing Congress. The party has been plagued by infighting, factionalism, weak leadership, lack of direction, failure to adapt to changing political realities, lack of transparency in the decision-making process, and inadequate grassroots mobilisation. These aforementioned factors responsible for Congress’ decline can be summed up in three verticals — ideology, leadership, and organisation. Two of these problems — leadership and ideology, or at least one of them, ideology,— have been addressed to some extent, while dual power centres within the party and organisational stagnation remain.

The national conversation on equity, harmony and pluralism reignited by the yatra has to be carried forward but that can only be done by a strong organisation at the grassroots level. Translating the yatra’s success into votes is the next challenge and it doesn’t follow automatically. The problem of reviving the organisation remains, but for now, Congress has sounded the bugle on the battle of narratives. The ideological struggle has been joined.

The writer is Professor Emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Distinguished Professor, Council for Social Development, New Delhi