Bharat Jodo Yatra revamps Rahul Gandhi’s image but won’t translate into votes until there’s anger against Modi and Congress organisation revives

Rahul Gandhi has shown incredible stamina, a will to complete what he embarked on, instead of running abroad halfway—which he was known for. The Yatra also showed another side of the usually inaccessible Rahul—even his colleagues used to complain about his lack of accessibility—putting an arm around an old woman, embracing the young, hoisting a child on his shoulder and agreeing to take selfies with countless others and, above all, discuss live issues with groups on the way. Rahul, the reluctant politician, had receded. The response to him has made him the unchallenged leader of the Congress again.

But there is a flip side to this story and this is pointed out privately by Congress leaders.

Legitimizing Rahul’s leadership will enable him to continue to take decisions from behind the scenes, like he did earlier, without having to come up front. And this time, criticism of him, even if warranted, will become that much more difficult.

Today, the responsibility officially rests with new party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, who will be called now to translate the goodwill generated by the Yatra into votes, but without a free hand to take decisions.

While Rahul reached out to the media through press conferences during the Yatra, his “bhasha ka lafda”(in the words of an Ujjain priest) is still dreaded by partymen.

His words that “Rahul Gandhi mar gaya”, “Rahul Gandhi aapke dimagh mein hai” was a case in point. It showed an inability to communicate what he wanted to say; he came across as less than politically savvy.

A Rahul, somewhat strengthened, is also good news for the BJP. For the Congress may now be tempted to pit Rahul against Narendra Modi again in 2024, as was done in 2014 and 2019 instead of supporting someone else — the last two elections had disastrous consequences for the Congress.

It may also make opposition unity that more difficult in 2024. Kharge has invited 21 like-minded opposition parties to partake in the BJY’s final function in Srinagar. From all accounts, except the parties which have an alliance with the Congress, the other regional entities may give the meet a miss.

“He used to be a time-pass politician,” a young entrepreneur in Delhi summed up Rahul’s Yatra. “Today we don’t view him in that light. He comes across as well- meaning and sincere about what he wants to do.”

Would you vote for him now?

The young man is suddenly silent. That’s an open question. “Modi is still doing well and people are happy with him, for all the problems they face.” In other words, Rahul’s chance may come — only when Modi starts to lose support, whenever that may be.

Rahul Gandhi has brought ideology back into political discourse. But his remark that he would rather get “beheaded” than go to the RSS office was a strange formulation for a leader who was throwing flying kisses at BJP workers. Or, saying evocatively that “Main nafrat ke bazaar mein mohabbat ki dukan khol raha hoon.” Or paying homage to Atal Behari Vajpayee at his samadhi in what was a brilliant stroke to come across as inclusive, or meeting sants in Ayodhya. All meant to signal that there can be sharp differences in politics but there is no place for enmity.

Clearly, the Congress cannot become a player unless it can capture the middle-ground again. One of the things the party has not been able to do is to figure out how to address the concerns of the Hindus.

The moot question at the end of the Yatra is this: Has Rahul Gandhi only enthused the Congress supporters or has he won over some of those who were on the BJP side? Has he been able to force the fence-sitters to rethink about Modi and the BJP?

There are after all no permanent majorities in a democracy. Even in 2019, there were 120 million people who voted for the Congress. Did Rahul draw to his side people beyond the usual suspects — the Left, liberal, pro-Congress, anti-Modi crowd? Yes, to enthuse your own demoralized base is no small achievement. But it is not good enough.

The Congress has put into place follow-up steps to the BJY like the “haath se haath jodo programme” which is being led by Priyanka Gandhi who the party will also try and build. She was portrayed as the architect of the Congress victory in Himachal Pradesh and is spearheading initiatives to win over the crucial women’s vote.

Rahul could have walked with 15 leaders of the Congress in every state he touched and showcased them as the future of the party. But he chose not to do this, keeping it a solo show. It has successfully rebranded his image, which appears to have been the purpose of the exercise. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, the BJP’s machinery is constantly building up Narendra Modi’s image. But it has shrunk the space for others in the Congress that had suddenly opened up, when he was under attack, for new ideas and initiatives to get greater play.

Rahul Gandhi has all along let it be known that “I am what I am.” Take it or leave it. That is a stand an individual MP can take but not one who leads the party for all practical purposes.

Every step Rahul takes — and his decisions behind the scenes — has a bearing on the Congress. It is this contradiction the party had to live with in the past and will again have to live with.

The Rahul of 2023 has gathered goodwill, an asset which gets tucked away somewhere in people’s consciousness, to be encashed at an appropriate moment. But it is unlikely to translate into votes unless Modi’s actions start to invite resentment and Rahul Gandhi starts to reconstruct the Congress organization into a fighting machinery for 2024. As of now, both look like long shots.