By Arun Srivastava

After a fortnight, the Bharat Jodo Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi would culminate with the nationwide flag hoisting in Srinagar. However this end could be purely an allegory. The true political Yatra (journey) of Rahul will start after this stage.

The political analyst, scribes,  intellectuals, fellows of RSS and Narendra Modi’s suppose tank are sweating out to decode the phrases and phrases utilized by Rahul about his yatra, which he has introduced to the individuals as his tapasya. They’re utilizing their mind to find truly what Rahul achieved from his Yatra. Regrettably they’re trying on the Yatra by way of the slim prism of electoral beneficial properties. Their most important fear is whether or not this yatra will assist the Congress to win the elections. With that is in thoughts they cite the Congress’s latest electoral loss in Gujarat. Additionally they search to know whether or not the Yatra would truly unify the Congress.

Whereas they’re anxious to know the solutions, they’re positive that increasingly Ghulam Nabi Azads would proceed to abandon the Congress as they don’t see any electoral relevance of the train. One improvement is kind of noticeable that after the Yatra was launched on September 7 no senior chief has left the occasion. Even the G 23 leaders who’re intrinsically against Rahul have deserted their mission to not settle for him as their chief. They’ve come to grasp the political significance and dynamics of the Yatra.

These leaders have been sustaining utter restrain even whereas they’re conscious Rahul is outwardly not too eager to pursue the electoral politics. Politicians should not saints and sadhus. They’re within the enterprise of politics to take pleasure in political energy. Clearly the intellectuals and specialists must look past their pre-perceived notions and conjectures. They even predict that Rahul has undertaken the Yatra to maintain the occasion below the management of the Gandhis.

Rahul didn’t undertake Yatra out of sheer political impulse. He could be taking out Bharat Jodo Yatra was introduced in Could 2022 on the three day “Chintan shivir” in Udaipur. Addressing the shivir, Rahul had mentioned that the Congress wanted to just accept that it had misplaced its reference to the individuals. He had come to grasp that the RSS and BJP had been setting a brand new narrative laced with rightist intent and beliefs which might utterly end the secular values and democratic establishments. To guard and protect the democratic ethos it was crucial that the Congress should look past the electoral beneficial properties and unleash a counter narrative to verify the saffron incursion.

Yatra has the outlined mission to counter the RSS and BJP narratives that are primarily based on the politics of Hindutva, essentially the most tempting and enticing goal. This was the rationale that all through Yatra Rahul fiercely attacked their divisive and hate politics. One improvement is equally eye catching, he referred to as upon the widespread individuals to affix the Yatra to fight BJP’s design to unfold “nafrat” (hatred).

He had come to grasp that this scary narrative couldn’t be fought within the electoral area and airplane. He will need to have a emotional join with the widespread  individuals for shattering the saffron narrative which mainly aimed toward pitting Muslims towards Hindus and polarise the Hindus on the plea of combating the designs of the Muslim terrorism. He knew that solely Congress can undertake this job as different political events have their divergent angle and strategy in the direction of BJP and Modi authorities.

Wrapped within the material of hypernationalism and Hindutva, RSS and Modi have reached the politics of hatred and communalism to the decrease degree. The dual units have penetrated the minds of the individuals, particularly the city center class. The one means unnoticed to detoxify the minds of the individuals is to counter the RSS –BJP narrative and supply the alternate. Rahul truly has been doing this. The Congress couldn’t consider defeating BJP if its narrative shouldn’t be completed. The BJP is panicked of the potential risk from the political and ideological line of Rahul.

His Yatra towards hatred, and communal animosity and fearlessness is step one in the direction of demolishing the narrative. He has achieved success in his transfer is express within the response from the widespread individuals. It’s important that the worldwide  vice chairman of the VHP and basic secretary of the belief constructing the Ram temple in Ayodhya, Champat Rai, praised Rahul Gandhi for enterprise the Bharat Jodo Yatra.  Rai mentioned it was “worthy of appreciation” {that a} youth was strolling on foot throughout the nation on this climate and making an attempt to grasp it. Rahul additionally obtained blessings from the top priest of the Ram Janmabhoomi in Ayodhya Acharya Satyendra Das who had wished him success by way of a letter.

The central message of his Yatra has caught the creativeness of the individuals. It’s clearly manifest within the large response of the individuals. Solely a naïve would argue that the individuals had been paid. What makes Yatra actually important is the spontaneous participation  of   1000’s  of villagers within the north Indian states. Even the BJP suppose tank was positive of Yatra being a flop present in Haryana and Punjab. However the response in these two states was past creativeness. The query might come up what made the individuals to rally behind Rahul? As a result of they’ve been witness to the worst sort of hate and communal politics practiced by the RSS and BJP.   The response was over whelming in

Rahul’s knowledge paid dividend. He utilised the problems which have been ruining the lives of the poor, below privileged and center class. He used unemployment, declining economic system, irregular value rise, fall in buying energy and rising inequality. As a substitute of utilizing the Yatra to ship his political message he used it as the best non-political discussion board for making conscious the individuals of the hazards of the Modi’s politics and preferences.

Although his occasion leaders usually informed that the Yatra would galvanise and rejuvenate the Congress, Rahul didn’t echo their observations. He at all times emphasised on purifying the system and struggle politics of hatred.  Nonetheless it labored as coramine for the Congress. The rank and file of the occasion which had withdrawn to the shell noticed a brand new alternative. Increasingly more of the Congress rank and file impressed by Rahul Gandhi’s BJY joined him on the street to Congress revival. For widespread individuals, those that are mainly against Congress his message got here because the ray of hope. The participation of enormous variety of widespread individuals, labourers, farmers, every day wage earners is testimony to it.

Whereas the secular and liberal forces nurse confusion on Rahul’s transfer, the RSS for deciphering his mission and likewise to neutralise his efforts has deployed its entrance organisations to conduct a collection of conferences throughout the nation to make sure that their narrative doesn’t get obliterated by Rahul’s technique.    RSS is scared that however having majority within the Lok Sabha, the BJP has misplaced its grip by itself narrative.

They focused his sporting T shirt even within the chilly winter. However this additionally again fired. Quite the opposite their jibes served Rahul’s mission to determine himself with the poor. A perceptible shift within the political narrative has apprehensive RSS and scared it in addition to the BJP of the long run strikes of Rahul. They strongly nurse the sensation that the method of Rahul Gandhi’s emergence as a mature chief should be blunted at any value. They realise that he can not be mocked and jeered at. Their confusion as to the best way to deal with Rahul on ward march bought manifest in Amit Shah’s speech in Tripura. Shah taking a jibe at Rahul mentioned that Baba ought to ‘open his ears and hear fastidiously’ to the announcement that on January 1, 2024, the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will likely be able to welcome worshippers. Shah by way of his assertion tried to convey that faith and Hindutva are going to be the important thing electoral points in 2024.

Undeniably BJY has been profitable in attaining its goal of catching the creativeness of the widespread individuals. Yatra has demolished the “untruths” unfold about Rahul to smear his picture. This has been a big achieve because it has projected him because the matured and farsighted chief. To this point the individuals held the view that there was no opposition chief who might oppose Modi. Now Congress has within the type of Rahul, who by the way enjoys extra recognition than Modi.

This alteration is seen within the commentary of the NCP president Sharad Pawar who mentioned “The individuals’s angle in the direction of Gandhi has modified. He’ll assist in bringing a consensus among the many opposition events within the coming future”. One of many main beneficial properties of the Yatra has been, reinventing Rahul Gandhi. Outfitted with the theoretical perception of New Left, Rahul is steadily transferring forward to wipe out the RSS-BJP narrative. In Panipat of Haryana he offered an perception “I’ve killed Rahul Gandhi. He’s in your thoughts. He’s not in my thoughts in any respect. He’s gone. Gone. The particular person you’re looking at shouldn’t be Rahul Gandhi. You’ll be able to see him. You don’t perceive it…Learn Hindu scriptures. Examine Shiv-ji (Lord Shiva), you’ll perceive. Don’t be shocked. Rahul Gandhi is in your head, not mine. He’s within the BJP’s head, not mine”. This has bought wider implication.

The brand new Rahul Gandhi is a metaphor that haunts the RSS and BJP. Regardless of utilizing their finest intellects the RSS and BJP haven’t succeeded in deciphering the adjustments which have occurred in Rahul. At this juncture any effort to carry the previous Rahul on the political canvas merely for the electoral wants would show not solely disastrous however counterproductive. His success in ending the RSS narrative will finally witness Congress getting again its previous social coalition and standing on its toes. BJY is actually not fruits of the mission. As a substitute it heralds a brand new starting. (IPA Service)

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