Opinion CPM’s John Brittas writes: Rahul Gandhi, shun the shortcuts in Bharat Jodo Yatra

John Brittas writes: Bharat Jodo Yatra has good intentions but the route is likely to take Congress back to where it was in 2019

John Brittas writes: The purported aim of the yatra is to redeem the nation from BJP’s divisive politics.

John Brittas

September 14, 2022 08:43 AM IST First published on: Sep 13, 2022 at 02:13 PM IST

The thing with living inside an echo chamber is that life feels good even when you are marching away from reality at a steady pace. About 3,500 km separate Kanyakumari from Kashmir – the proposed length of Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra – and if his advisers have their way he would be further away from the stark political realities facing India’s principal Opposition party by the time he reaches Srinagar.

Sudheendra Kulkarni writes: | Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is commendable. But attacking the Sangh is fruitless

The purported aim of the yatra is to redeem the nation from BJP’s divisive politics. Five days into the rally, the headlines it has generated indicate how much closer the Nehru-Gandhi scion is to redeem the nation from hatred and bigotry: How expensive is that white T-shirt, was Jesus Christ a God, and how tasty are Kerala’s roadside snacks. But then, as a wise man of Delhi once said, “Hanuz, Dilli Door Ast” (Delhi is yet far far away).

Of course, one can only welcome Rahul’s decision to undertake such a mammoth journey as he has shirked his earlier reticence and taken on the Modi-led BJP behemoth. Never mind the jokes going around in Kerala where the Yatra will spend a whopping 19 days, about trying to “redeem” a state from the clutches of the BJP, where the latter is not even a marginal player. According to Rahul Gandhi, his real intention is to spread the message of Kerala – unity in diversity and social harmony – to the other states. But it’s curious that the catchment areas of the so-called hatred and disharmony do not find a prominent place on the Yatra route. A crucial state like Gujarat, the crucible in which hardline Hindutva was first perfected, doesn’t even figure in it. Gujarat is going to the polls next year, and so is Himachal Pradesh, the home state of BJP president JP Nadda.

One cannot be faulted for concluding that Rahul’s advisors are not interested in taking on the BJP but in retaining Congress seats. In 2019, the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) contributed 19 seats (the Kerala Congress, which won one seat, went over to the Left later) when the party ended with a sagging tally of 53. Interestingly, Rahul has been prolific in taking up cudgels on a plethora of issues in the realm of Kerala’s local politics. These include the agitation spearheaded by the Latin Archdiocese Church in Kerala and the semi-high speed project, on which Congress and BJP are on the same page.

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The port at Vizhinjam in Trivandrum was approved by the UPA government when Congress leader Oommen Chandy was Chief Minister. Congress media wing chief Jairam Ramesh helmed the Union environment ministry, which navigated the project through numerous issues including sea erosion and threats to livelihood. Gandhi’s meeting with the representatives of the protesters during the Yatra has given credence to the agitation which continues despite the assurance of the Chief Minister that he would concede to every demand except that of halting work. As a party which was instrumental in granting all clearances for the port, Gandhi should have dissuaded the proponents as the agitation has far-reaching impacts due to the geopolitical importance of the port.

महंगाई!#BharatJodoYatra के दौरान मैं जहां भी जा रहा हूं, लोग इस मुद्दे से बहुत ज़्यादा परेशान हैं।

प्रधानमंत्री जनता की तकलीफ़ को जानबूझ कर अनदेखा कर रहे हैं।

भारत की हर दुःख भरी पुकार को हुंकार बनाएंगे, भारत जोड़ते जाएंगे। pic.twitter.com/umXCLwITqq

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 13, 2022

A vast chunk of saffron catchment areas, especially the biggest of them all, Yogi Adityanath-ruled Uttar Pradesh, will only get a glimpse of Gandhi. There is an unfortunate parallel to his feckless act during the last General Elections when he picked the Muslim League-dominated Wayanad as his battlefield. This was a potent tool for the RSS brigades to depict him as the chieftain who abandoned the war front and withdrew to his Kerala ally’s cosy “green” pasture. Did the Kerala-centric advisors prevail over him to turn the Yatra into an election bugle so that the number of seats won in Kerala can be protected as Punjab, which contributed the second largest chunk, has shifted lock, stock and barrel to the AAP?

The unease amongst the Congress rank and file can be addressed only if Rahul Gandhi is seen combating Modi effectively. It is true that most Congressmen can’t think of a scenario where the Gandhis are absent on the frontline. But more importantly, the readiness of the party to provide an effective organisational structure and ideological vision is what people expect from Congress at this juncture. The real test that Gandhi has to undergo is to shed a strong sense of entitlement. He should listen to more voices within and outside his party. If he realises that the nation and the Congress are on the cusp of change, he should allow himself or his successor to re-invent the Congress rather than be misled on a trajectory of pomp and applause.

Also Read | Congress on wheels: Inside the containers holding its ‘Bharat Jodo’ Yatris

The die, unfortunately, looks like it is cast for the Congress party, as exemplified by the fact that the much-awaited election for the president of Congress is set to take place while Rahul is on his Yatra. The message is clear: Rahul or his proxy will be the president. Otherwise, what will a new party president do when Gandhi himself is on the road in effect driving the party organisation into a Yatra?

John Brittas is a CPM Rajya Sabha member from Kerala

# Bharat Jodo Yatra